Honey Chipotle Shrimp with Crispy Leek Threads, Wild Rice and Grapefruit Honey Cole Slaw

A great entree and accompaniments for those who seek new flavor combinations!

     I have made grapefruit cole slaw for many years.  Grapefruit slaw is a Florida style recipe.  It is cool, and good tasting.  The grapefruit is acidic enough to naturally give the cole slaw its characteristic refreshing quality.  This cole slaw is a perfect choice for a hot summer evening meal.
     There are so many chipotle pepper recipes that have been written during the last thirty years.  Many chipotle recipes leave something to be desired.  When chipotle peppers become part of the balance of flavor, instead of being an overwhelming flavor, chipotle is at its best.  Honey naturally balances the flavor of chipotle peppers, even when a high proportion of chipotle pepper is used in a recipe.  Sweet and spicy hot flavors can be accomplished with sugar and other sweeteners, but honey has a way of mellowing the bite of a hot chile pepper.
     Wild rice is a Native American tradition.  Wild rice is not really in the rice family of grains.  Wild rice is a wild reed grain.  Native Americans harvest wild rice by bending lakeside or riverside reeds over a canoe and then they whack the reeds with sticks to to knock the reed grain into the canoe.  Some packaged wild rice in grocery stores is gathered by this traditional method and the package will state that the wild rice was collected this way.  If you want wild rice that is as traditional as it gets, then purchase wild rice that was collected by Native Americans.
     There are a few styles of crispy fried leeks that I make.  One is to soak the leeks in buttermilk, so the leeks remain green and lightly browned after frying.  That style has a gentle flavor.  Plain fried crispy leek threads have a much bolder earthy flavor and they become a dark brown color.  Th flavor is not bitter like a dark crispy caramelized spanish onion, because leeks contain far less sugar.  The green top of a leek can be used for thin dark fried leek threads.
      Many French chefs make the mistake of saying that the green part of a leek is bitter.  The green top of a leek is not bitter, it is just stronger in flavor because of the higher chlorophyl content.  The white end of a leek has more of a delicate flavor.  Many chefs say that only the white of a leek can be used, but that is incorrect.  Too much emphasis on delicate flavors can lead young chefs to create food that is on a par with bland boring geriatric cuisine.  Knowing when the white part of a leek is proper and when the green part of a leek can be used is something that experienced chefs understand.  Do not be quick about discarding the green part of a leek, because of one chef's word!            

     Grapefruit Honey Coleslaw Recipe:
     Place 1 cup of very thin sliced cabbage into a mixing bowl.
     Add 1 1/2  tablespoons of honey.
     Remove the seeds and pith membrane from 4 to 5 grapefruit segments.  (supremes)
     Cut the grapefruit supremes into small bite size pieces.
     Add the grapefruit pieces to the cabbage.
     Add 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice.
     Add 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 2 to 3 pinches of poppy seeds.
     Allow the grapefruit honey cole slaw to marinate for twenty minutes in a refrigerator.
   
     Wild Rice: 
     Heat a dry sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 1/2 cup of wild rice.
     Toast the rice, while stirring, till it just starts to make a crackling sound.
     Add 1 1/3 cups of water.  (Wild rice requires more water than long grain white rice.)
     Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Cover the sauce pot with a lid.
     Simmer the wild rice in the covered sauce pot, till it becomes cooked al dente.  (Wild rice takes a little more time to cook than white rice.)
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 small pinch of cumin.
     Add 1 small pinch of coriander.
     Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil while stirring, to make the wild rice glisten.
     Keep the wild rice warm on a stove top.
   
     Crispy Leek Threads:
     Very thin julienne slice a 4" long section of the green end of a leek.
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add enough vegetable oil, so the oil is 1/8" to 1/4" deep.
     Pan fry the leek threads in the hot oil. till they become very crisp and brown.
     Use a slotted spatula to scoop the leek threads out of the oil.
     Gently place the leek threads on a dry towel to drain off any excess grease.
     Set the leek threads and towel aside where they will not be damaged.

   
     Honey Chipotle Shrimp Recipe: 
     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
     Add 1 small splash of olive oil.
     Add 7 large peeled and deveined shrimp.
     Saute the shrimp, till they become a little bit more than halfway cooked.
     Add 1 1/2 ounces of minced chipotle chile peppers en adobo.  Canned chipotle en adobo is best for this recipe.)
     Add 2 tablespoons of honey.
     Add 1/2 cup of water.
     Add 2 thin bias sliced green onions.
     Simmer and reduce the sauce to a thin sauce consistency.
   
   
     Honey Chipotle Shrimp with Crispy Leek Threads, Wild Rice and Grapefruit Honey Cole Slaw:
     Place a small mound of the grapefruit honey cole slaw on the plate.
     Place a small mound of the wild rice on the plate  
     Place the shrimp across the plate.
     Spoon the honey chipotle sauce over the shrimp.
     Place the crispy leek threads on the edge of the shrimp.
   
      Honey in two items on the same plate?  I can hear the food critics now!  There is nothing wrong with having two common flavors on the same plate, especially if the key flavor is used in two very different ways.  The grapefruit honey cole slaw gives refreshing relief to the spicy flavor of the shrimp entree.  Delicious!  ...  Shawna