Southwestern Shrimp Grilled in Cornhusks

16 large dried cornhusks
2 red onions, peeled and cut into 3/8-inch slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 jumbo shrimp (about 1 lb), peeled and de-veined
Charred Chile Salsa (recipe below)
1 ripe Haas avocado, peeled, pitted and cut lengthwise into eighths
Cilantro sprigs for garnish
4 lime wedges for garnish

In a large bowl, cover cornhusks with boiling water, set aside until pliable, about 1 hour. Prepare grill.

Insert wooden pick horizontally through each onion slice to secure for grilling. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill onions, turning until lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Remove wooden picks.

Drain cornhusks and open flat. Overlap wide, flat ends if 2 cornhusks to make a boat-shape package. Repeat to make 8 packages. Divide onions among cornhusks and top each with shrimp and 2 tablespoons Charred Chile Salsa. Fold cornhusks edges firmly around filling and tie ends with kitchen string.

Place packages on grill. Cover and grill, without turning, until shrimp is opaque, 10 to 12 minutes. To serve, open each plate. Garnish with avocado, cilantro and lime wedges.

Serve with remaining salsa.

Makes 4 servings.

Charred Chile Salsa:
1 ear corn, husked
1 red bell pepper
3 large ripe plum tomatoes
8 tomatillos, husked
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 small white onion, peeled
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 dried New Mexico chiles
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (no stems!)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black peppers to taste

Prepare a grill. Brush corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic and onion with oil. Thread garlic on a metal skewer. Grill vegetables, turning until charred, 5 to 15 minutes.

Lightly grill chiles, turning often, about 1 minute. (Do not burn) When vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel, core and quarter bell pepper. Peel tomatoes and garlic. Core tomatillos. Stem and seed chiles. In a food processor, coarsely chop bell pepper and chiles. Add tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, onion, cilantro, lime juice and brown sugar and coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl. Cut kernels from corn and stir into salsa. Add salt and pepper.

Salsa will keep, covered, in a refrigerator up to 1 day.

Makes about 2 cups.