About a year ago, I had a shrimp dish in a tiny hole-in-the-wall Mexican place in Columbus Ohio which completely kicked my ass with flavor. The restaurant is gone, but I've been craving it since. So tonight I took a shot at recreating it, somewhat.

I pan-roasted dried Guajillo peppers until they were smoky, then put them in hot water to reconstitute. While they were soaking, I charred the skin on a couple of tomatoes over open flame, then whizzed 'em up in the food processor with a little red onion, tomato sauce, sundried tomato paste, and spices. I added the soaked peppers and some roasted garlic cloves and blended it into a spicy paste.

Meanwhile I was caramelizing some red onions with a chopped jalapeño. Once they were browned, I added the tomato/pepper paste, some tomato sauce, and a half cup of chicken broth, and let that cook down and thicken. Once it was thick, I added cilantro, lime juice, two pounds of peeled shrimp and stirred until cooked.

I served it with avocado slices, cilantro, lime wedges, and toasted corn tortillas.

It wasn't anywhere as spicy or smoky as when I'd had the dish, but it was still pretty good!