baby rambutan

“shrimp scampi” or shrimp shrimp…or the one that didn’t even make it out of the pan.
nope, while i was cooking everyone wandered in to check on what was that smelling so good, ha Mom?
my mistake was letting them have a taste while it was piping hot, so every time i turned away from the stove, a sneaky fork got in there, and when i got back, the scampi quantity had dwindled down to the point where there WAS no point in serving it.

(doesn’t that look like the onscreen mist they use to cover up actresses Of A Certain Age?)

steam cleared away, and nothing to cover up, just gleaming shrimp. *ting!
the recipe is the soul of simplicity, and the bright shining flavor of shrimp is the star. i’m amazed at this dish because i have tried to serve this family shrimp in many guises and disguises, and this is the first time they all just loved it–nay, devoured it.

garlic,
olive oil,
shrimp,
parsley,
lemon juice….i want some right now! recipe follows———->

simple shrimp scampi, by Mark Bittman from Cook’s Illustrated [italics mine!]

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced [i used quite a bit more! say like, 6 large cloves, crushed first then minced]
2 pounds large shrimp (21 to 25 count per pound), peeled, deveined, and rinsed
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves [more like a half cup, since i have a hardy bush out back, are they evergreen, i wonder? ]
2 tbsps. juice from 1 lemon
salt
cayenne pepper

heat oil and garlic in 10-inch skillet at medium heat until garlic begins to sizzle. reduce heat to medium-low and cook until fragrant and pale gold, about 2 minutes. add shrimp, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimps turn pink, about 7 minutes. be careful not to overcook or else shrimp will become tough. off heat, stir in parsley, lemon juice, and salt and cayenne pepper.

variations: substitute 1 tsp. ground cumin and 2 tsps. paprika (add w/ the garlic) for the cayenne and substitute sherry vinegar for the lemon juice.
or,
add 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsps. red pepper flakes with garlic, omit cayenne, and substitute 2 tbsps. minced fresh cilantro leaves for the parsley.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 8:42 am and is filed under sea creatures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.