4.22.25 | The Devil's in the Diabla
La Señorita y las Margaritas
Diabla!
Our guests often ask what I eat on my day off.
I don't know what they expect to hear, but for lunch it’s usually spicy noodles. For dinner, Becca and I like to cook. Anything from sausage with pasta and veggies or stir fry. Usual things—no ortolan bunting, no foie gras, no truffles, This week has been particularly busy in the restaurant so we plan on taking Sunday all the way off. (Don't call, I won't be answering.)
To get ready, I picked up some of Meg's aged Gouda. Some wine from Kali, limes, agave, and shrimp. Some dried chilies, hot chilies, garlic, and onions. Can you guess what we're having?
We'll start our day with coffee. Becca and Jellybean will probably go for a walk and then we'll slowly migrate into the garden and start getting it ready for the season. Becca already has some asparagus coming in. Jellybean will be busy hunting rabbits and chipmunks and I will be hardening off some hot chili plants, basil, and peppers. When it starts to get too hot we'll probably all come back inside for some cheese, nuts, and olives.
Around five-ish, it'll be vinyl records and margaritas for cocktail hour. I am feeling a little Parliament-Funkadelic, but Becca may want something a little more relaxing, like Beach House and Jellybean is always partial to Edith Piaf due to her French roots.
Then it'll be time to start prepping for dinner. We're doing one of Becca's favorites, Camarones a la Diabla. I don't have an exact recipe, because we don't follow one. So if you like to cook, this one should be fairly easy to follow.
I start with a cast iron Dutch oven, but any heavy bottomed, high sided pan with a lid should work.
Turn off the smoke alarms, get that sucker hot, and add some oil.
Add in about 2 cups of chopped tomatoes—Romas, heirlooms, cherries, it doesn't really matter. You just want the pan to get hot enough to get a little char on the skins.
Add in about half an onion, chopped, and brown that as well.
By now the tomatoes will have released some juice and you can turn the heat down to medium low and continue to cook.
Now add in a few dried chilies. Make sure to remove the stems and seeds. I like a couple guajillo and a couple ancho, but whatever you have should be fine. It may not be traditional, but eat what you like.
I also add in about 5 cloves of chopped garlic. Don't burn it!
Also I like some heat. I want to taste the Diabla in my Camarones a la Diabla. So I add in a couple red Fresnos, but any hot pepper will do.
Once everything is goopy and starting to cook, add in a couple cups of water or stock, a pinch of salt, and reduce the heat to a light simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes or so.
Once it’s cooked and the dried peppers are tender, you can blitz it with a stick blender. Try not to fling molten hot spicy chili puree all over the place. (You could also do this in a blender, but I would highly suggest you let it cool a bit before doing so.)
Now adjust the seasoning. I like a pinch of cumin, maybe a little cayenne if it's not hot enough, salt, and just a splash of lime juice. Not too much lime, because you'll be serving it with lime wedges.
Now's time to sauté some shrimp. Get another large pan, add some oil, set to medium high heat, and when the oil is moving quickly around the pan, place your shrimp in and allow to cook one one side for a minute or so before flipping. You don't want to cook your shrimp all the way, you want them still a bit translucent.
Now add some of your Diabla sauce and allow to cook along with the shrimp and coat the shrimp nicely. This should bring your shrimp up to just cooked. It's better to undercook than overcook. Done.
We like to have our Diabla over rice, with beans, avocado slices, and cilantro.
What kind of wine goes with spicy shrimp, chilies, and cilantro? I have no idea, so we picked two whites of Kali's recommendation.
However you prepare your Diabla, go into it with reckless abandon, make it just a little too spicy, and enjoy it with Parliament-Funkadelic in the background. You won't be disappointed. Also, turn the music up to cover the sound of your sniffling nose.
Enjoy your day off. I'm going to enjoy mine.
—Matt
FROM THE APRIL 22, 2025 NEWSLETTER | CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE