Quick Spiced Shrimp is a new recipe that resulted from writing this website and my love of (addiction to) cookbooks.
Obviously to keep a cooking website going, I have to try new recipes several days every week.
I’ve already confessed more than once to being terrible at meal planning. I’m great at it for holidays or if we’re having a party, but I’m not a sit down and plan out the meals for the week kinda girl.
So, I had shrimp thawing in the fridge and no real plan beyond that.
I have plenty of go to shrimp recipes but was still feeling fairly uninspired and definitely not intending to go back out to the store after a long day.
I went to my bookcase, grabbed the giant, red New York Times Cookbook
Happily, I found this recipe and with a few modifications for the fact that I don’t keep clam juice in my pantry, made these terrific, Quick Spiced Shrimp in minutes!
Here’s what you need:
Shrimp, Butter, Garlic, Fresh Rosemary, Fresh Thyme, Bay Leaves, Dried Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, White Wine, Fresh Parsley (not pictured), Salt & Pepper
Once things go into the pan, this dish comes together in under 10 minutes so it’s essential to prep all of your ingredients before you begin cooking.
Peel & devein 1 pound of nice, big shrimp. I buy wild caught shrimp and almost always have some stashed in the freezer.
A friend recently asked me about peeling and deveining shrimp and my advice was, that like home improvement, you need the right tool for the job.
Fortunately, this tool costs only about $2 at my store (ignore the price in the amazon link, I just grabbed it for the photo).
Jab the pointy end into the top of the head end of the shrimp and push it all the way through to the tail. The peel and little shrimpy feet come right off and the “vein” comes out of the back as well.
Pretty slick for a couple of bucks.
For this recipe, I’m using a combination of fresh and dried herbs. I love fresh herbs and usually have them growing on my patio.
Finely chop 2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary and 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme. If you only have dried, that’s okay, just use HALF as much as fresh.
Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic.
Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper (or more to taste), and 1 bay leaf.
Cook the garlic and herbs for only about 30 seconds – you don’t want the butter to brown, then add the shrimp.
Cook the shrimp for 3 minutes, shaking or slightly stirring the pan.
At this point, the shrimp will be about halfway cooked, just starting to curl on the edges but not quite pink all over.
Add 2 more Tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of white wine.
Cook for 3 more minutes until the sauce thickens, the shrimp are vibrant pink, and cooked through.
Season to taste with salt & pepper, garnish with a little chopped parsley for color, and serve.
If I were you, I’d have a nice crusty baguette of French or sourdough bread for dipping in that sauce.
I served this with a little leftover wild rice, some aspragus, and a quick salad. Bam! Dinner in minutes.
This would also make a great appetizer (grab those festive toothpicks) or first course for a tapas party.
Simple, easy, and with a pretty nice kick of flavor, these Quick Spiced Shrimp are a great new addition to our seafood repertoire.
Here’s the recipe: Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook
