Sicilian Shrimp Pasta: Great for any weather!

Last week I had friends in for a very casual dinner. I had shrimp in the freezer. This was a small group.  Shrimp isn’t something I often think of for big crowds, partly because it’s a little costly. And partly because it’s hard to find a good shrimp recipe that doesn’t take a lot of last minute work. And I just don't like a lot of last minute work when I'm entertaining a large group of guests.

But for a smaller group, I love to make some sort of shrimp pasta, and I’ve got a new one for you. You can make the sauce completely (up to adding the shrimp) an hour or two ahead and let it set at room temperature. You can also make it even further ahead and refrigerate, bringing it to a simmer before adding the shrimp.

This is quite typical of Sicilian cooking. Citrus grows wild on the island, and capers and raisins are often used with tomatoes there. Marsala wine is native to Sicily. The sauce is thinner than a typical Italian tomato sauce. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

You may wonder about the lack of cheese. Italians rarely use cheese with seafood pasta dishes, but if you want it, I won’t tell on you!

With a simple salad, this makes a great meal to share with friends on a winter evening.

Gamberoni alla Siciliana

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 or 5 plump cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, cut into ¼” dice
1 bulb fennel
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes with garlic and herbs
2 tbsp golden raisins
2 tbsp capers, drained
1 cup dry Marsala
Juice and finely grated zest of one large orange
½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb fettuccine or linguine, cooked al dente

In a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir a couple of times. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.

Cut the top stalks off the bulb of fennel. Cut the bulb in half vertically. Cut out and discard the solid core. Sliver the remaining fennel bulb and reserve the top green fronds for garnish. Add the fennel slivers to the pan with the onions. Stir and continue to cook about another five minutes.

Add the tomatoes, raisins, capers, Marsala, orange juice and zest, fennel seeds and pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed.

When ready to serve, bring the sauce to a simmer and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are pink and opaque, about 5 minutes. Serve over the pasta and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds. Serves 6 to 8.

NOTE: The red pepper flakes give a little zing without being too hot. You may increase them if you like, or leave them out entirely if you prefer a milder dish.

Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp!

Once a month Williams-Sonoma has a Saturday cooking demonstration, free of charge. I go as often as I can, because the recipes are always really tasty.

A few weeks ago I went and the recipe was from Sous Chef Justine Kelly, of the restaurant Slanted Door in San Francisco. She called it "Caramelized Shrimp with Lemongrass, Thai Chiles and Ginger."

I had friends coming for dinner that evening and I really wanted to make it, but it called for several ingredients usually only available in Oriental markets: fresh lemongrass, palm sugar and Thai chiles. There is no oriental market near us, so I figured I’d adapt it to supermarket shelves. It came out so well that I thought you’d want to try it too.

For the palm sugar, I substituted dark brown sugar, and frankly I’m not sure the end result wasn’t better for it. I made the caramel syrup with the fish sauce, as indicated, but the recipe called for making a lot more than needed with the note that it keeps well for other uses. I just made enough for the one recipe.  But I'm going to try this same recipe soon with chicken breasts, cut into chunks and cooked exactly the same way, so leftover syrup wouldn't have been a bad thing.

Lemongrass paste is widely available in tubes, in the produce section of your market, usually near the fresh herbs. It works extremely well in recipes such as this, and keeps well in the fridge.  It has the added advantage of not having to deal with the tough parts of the lemongrass that won't get tender no matter how long you cook the dish.

And since there were no Thai chiles, I used a Serrano chile instead. Our friends are much more heat tolerant than I am, so I sliced up another for them to add to the finished dish as taste dictated. A jalapeño pepper would also work.

And finally, although the recipe didn’t call for it, I topped it with chopped cilantro, which all agreed was a felicitous addition.

I served it with steamed white rice, roasted asparagus and Mark Bittman’s salad of heirloom tomatoes, soy sauce and a drizzle of oriental sesame oil, atop a bed of arugula. 

This makes a good dinner for a busy day, because you could probably get the rest of the meal done in about the time it takes the rice to cook. Alternately, you could (as I did) prepare the recipe up to the point where you add the hot caramel sauce. It takes only about 5 minutes then, to finish up.

Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp

1 ½ lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup oriental fish sauce

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup shallot, peeled and very thinly sliced

1 or 2 hot green chiles, cut lengthwise in half, seeds removed

3 tbsp. lemongrass paste (or ¼ cup fresh, minced)

2 plump cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 2-inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchstick pieces

¼ cup chicken or seafood stock

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Rinse the shrimp, pat dry and sprinkle with the pepper. 

Make the caramel sauce: in a heavy saucepan, simmer the brown sugar with the fish sauce just until the sugar is melted. Keep warm.

In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and chiles and stir a few times. Add the lemongrass paste, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring for another couple of minutes. Stir in the chicken stock and hot caramel sauce. 

Add the shrimp, turn the heat up a little and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just done, five to seven minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the cilantro and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Valentine Dinner for my Sweetie!

My Valentine honey asked if I wanted to go out for dinner tonight, but you know, it’s sort of like New Years Eve, or Mothers’ Day brunch. I’d rather make a nice dinner at home and avoid the crowds. So I did.

We had a nice adult beverage first, and then had our first course. I had found a lovely fresh artichoke at Fresh Market. Trimmed and simmered in lemon water, I whipped up a sort of remoulade sauce and filled the middle and topped it with a few cooked shrimp. I’m going to give you the recipe for that as I made it.

Then we had my Valentine’s favorite meal: steak and potatoes. I marinated the steak in Worcestershire sauce, garlic, lemon peel, salt and black pepper. Grilled to medium rare, I topped it with butter mixed with a balsamic reduction and finely minced shallots.  It was great with wedges of redskin potatoes tossed with olive oil and herbs and roasted, and a salad with blue cheese, pancetta crisps, tomato and balsamic vinaigrette.

We had no room for the dessert: coffee ice cream with dark chocolate-cinnamon sauce. Maybe later?

Valentine Artichokes with Shrimp

1 good-sized artichoke

1 lemon

1 tbsp kosher salt

10 medium sized raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Sauce:

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons capers, chopped

2 green onions, white and some of the green, minced

Juice and finely grated zest of one medium lime

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Penzey’s French vinaigrette seasoning

              (or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon, crumbled)

In a medium saucepan, put a few inches of water. Squeeze the juice from on lemon into it and add the lemon halves. Bring to a simmer.

If there is a long stem on the artichoke, peel it with a vegetable peeler. Snap off the tough bottom leaves. With kitchen shears, snip off the pointy ends of the remaining leaves, and cut across the top about one inch down. Cut in half down the center. With a spoon, scrape out the fuzzy choke. Drop into the simmering water and cook until the thick bottom is tender, usually 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and put cut side down on paper towels in a dish. Chill.

In the same pan, bring the liquid to a boil, drop in the shrimp. Remove from the heat, cover and let set for about 7 minutes or until pink through. Drain and chill.  In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients. Cover and chill.

When ready to serve, put the artichoke on a plate cut side up. Divide the sauce between them, top with the shrimp and serve with extra napkins. 

For those who haven’t eaten fresh artichokes before, here’s what you do: pull off the leaves one by one. The edible part is at the end that was attached to the heart. Scrape off the tender part between your teeth and discard the tough part remaining. It’s a nice touch to have a separate dish for the discards. The best part is the tender bottom which is totally edible.

It’s a leisurely dish. You don’t eat it when you’re in a hurry. It slows down the pace of life for a bit while you seek out the tasty tender parts and dip it into the sauce…