Spicy Shrimp Stew

Shrimp stew on grits, with corn and mango relish. 

This recipe is fantastic--spicy and comforting, rich-tasting while actually being moderately healthy (what's a a little bacon when there are so many other vegetables?) It's like a less-creamy, more-tomato heavy, spicier etouffee. I made this on a Sunday--the stew needs to simmer a reduce for a couple hours, so it's the sort of thing to make on a day when you'll be putzing around the house anyway.
Also--I think serving this over grits results in a more-delicious shrimp and grits than the traditional recipe, which includes a lot of cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce.

Ingredients (in order of addition to the pot)
For the shrimp stock
the shells of the shrimp (2 or 3 lbs)
1 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, cut in half
the stems of the parsley (you'll use the leaves to finish the stew)
the root ends of the scallions
1 head of garlic, cut in half

3 slices of applewood smoked bacon
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 red onion, diced
8 big cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of white wine
12 large tomatoes (buy the ripest you can find) diced
1 habanero pepper, minced (with seeds)
1 package grape tomatoes (fine to leave whole--you will mash them later)
Salt to taste
2 red peppers, diced into large pieces
2 or 3 lbs of shrimp, peeled (save the shells to make the stock)
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 package scallions, sliced

Habaneros have a sweet, slow-burning heat. They're so spicy you only need one for the whole pot of stew--if you want a REALLY spicy stew, use two. 

What to do 
Start by making the shrimp stock, as it needs to simmer for awhile to develop flavor. In a medium sized saucepan, melt a tablespoon of butter. Add the shrimp shells and a sprinle of salt and saute in the butter--you'll see the shells turn pink. Cover with about 4 cups of water and add the onion, garlic, parsley and scallion ends. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer for at least an hour.
When it's time to use it, you'll pour it through a colander so the liquid enters the stew and the vegetables and shrimp stay out (just throw these away).

When the stock has been going for 45 min or so, you can start making the stew!
Dice the bacon and add it to your stew pot, along with the two tablespoons of butter. Allow to crisp up and render.
After the bacon's crispy, add the diced red onion and garlic and saute in the butter and bacon fat, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes.
Add the white wine. Stir, getting up any bits burned onto the bottom of the pot. Boil until well reduced (there should be a thickened liquid on the bottom of the pot).
Add the tomatoes and habanero. Cover the pot until everything boils. Add the shrimp stock and stir. Use a potato masher to smash the tomatoes--you want them chunky and stew-y but not pureed.
Allow this pot to simmer for about two hours, uncovered. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing's burning to the bottom. It should thicken up and reduce while it simmers.
After two hours, add the red peppers and shrimp. Allow to simmer for ten more minutes--the shrimp should stay tender. Adding the red peppers late will allow them to keep their flavor. Taste for salt.
To finish, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley and scallions.
Serve over grits!

This stew takes some time--but it's fantastic. Enjoy!

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

This is an Ina Garten recipe--I've been wanting to try it for a long time. Basically, it's just a regular shrimp cocktail, but the shrimps are roasted instead of steamed. 

Tonight was the perfect night to try this recipe--I'd been at school late, tutoring kids for my final exam in the morning. It takes less than 15 minutes all together. 

This came out DELICIOUS. I made a pound and a half of shrimp, and Adam and I had it for dinner, rather than an appetizer. 

So easy, so yummy--make immediately! 

Ingredients! You probably have most in your fridge already. Not picture--Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce (I used Sriracha) 

Ingredients
For the shrimp:
2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


For the sauce:
1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Sriracha)


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Or--buy cleaned, frozen shrimp and just rinse under cool water. 

Defrosted and rinsed shrimp. 

Toss shrimp in a bowl with butter, salt, and pepper. Spread on a roasting sheet in one layer.  Roast for 8 to10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

Roasted shrimp! This pan has seen a lot of wear and tear. 

For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.



This is a SUPER easy weeknight dinner--pair with your favorite cheap white wine.
Enjoy!

Shrimp Dumplings with Ginger-Scallion-Garlic Sauce

These were not intended to be fried--but turned out fabulously nonetheless.

So I set out to find something to do with a two bags of frozen shrimp. We had about half a bag in our freezer, left over from when I made gumbo to celebrate the season finale of The Bachelor. Then this weekend, we went up to the ski house for the last time, and I discovered a bag of frozen shrimp from November, when I thought I was going to make etoufee at the ski house--which I never did.
Also, lurking in the fridge: wan ton wrappers. Wantonly languishing, wanton wrappers. So then I was like: what can you make with shrimp and wanton wrappers? Think, think: SHRIMP DUMPLINGS!!!!

Shrimp dumpling ingredients!

There were two labor-intensive parts: peeling the shrimp and forming the dumplings. Other than that, it was pretty easy.
These tasted awesome, just like dim sum. But the real winner was the ginger-scallion sauce: it was great. It would be the perfect sauce for noodles, stir-fry or any kind of meat or veggies. 

Shrimp Dumplings: 

Ingredients: 
2 pounds peeled, de-veined shrimp: chop finely 
1 can of water chestnuts (small can), finely chopped
2 bunches of scallions, finely chopped
1 TB sesame oil
1 TB chili paste or Sriracha
2 inch fat piece of ginger, chopped
1 TB soy sauce
1 egg white
1 TB brown sugar
12-15 wanton wrappers. 

What to do: 
1. Mix the shrimp, chopped water chestnuts, scallions, soy sauce, sugar, egg white, ginger and sesame oil in a bowl. 

Half-chopped shrimp

Half-chopped scallions on a still-shrimpy cutting board. 

All the ingredients, prior to mixing.

2. Mix all the ingredients up (except for the wanton wrappers)!

Raw shrimpy filling goodness

3.  Here is how you fill them: get a wonton wrapper and lay it flat. Scoop a few tablespoons on the filling into the middle. Brush the sides of the wanton wrapper with water, then pinch the sides together, forming a dealed package. Set each completed dumpling aside.

My dumpling factory

Edges brushed with water. !

Pinch all the sides firmly together

Pinch the edges into ruffles

4. Either steam or fry.

Originally, I had been planning to steam these. But we didn't end up cooking these until the day after I made them--as they sat raw in the fridge, the wet filling got the wrappers all soggy, and little tears formed in the wantons as I took them off the tray. I figured frying them would be better in this situation--filling wouldn't spill out and they wouldn't get soggy.


Ginger-Scallion-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
1 3-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated 
2 fat garlic cloves, minced or grated 
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup neutral oil, like canola or a light olive oil
3 TB sesame oil 
2 TB cold water
2 TB brown sugar
1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
Spicy element to taste (I used about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Sriracha or cayenne pepper would work well here too, or some minced jalapenos) 

What to do: 
Put all the ingredients into a container with a tight lid. Shake till emulsified! 
Pour onto dumplings or serve on the side as a dip.

Looking at this recipe, it seems like a lot of ingredients--but really it's pretty easy, Other than the scallions and ginger, I had all of these ingredients on hand before I went shopping.
Again, this sauce is GREAT. It would be amazing dripped over steamed green beans, plain chicken, anything. You must make it!

Saucy dumpling goodness

 Enjoy!

Shrimp Saganaki

Well, the story of this meal, which was delicious, starts with my back garden. When we bought this house it was a MESS. Completely overgrown with creeper, strewn with chihuahua poop (ok that happened after we moved in). Basically unused space going to waste. So I decided I should clean it up, and seeing as I had a week off for Spring Break, now's probably the time.

The garden before. It smells like turds and the gate won't close because of the damn vines.

So that led to me having to go to Home Depot, my least favorite place on earth. I needed shovels and cutters and stuff. That was the worst part of the whole day. I had to have a conversation about dirt with a man I didn't know.
But: my sister very nicely said she would help. My sister is really buff--she works out ALL the time. And she sees all life activities as opportunities for exercise. So she is the best possible person to help you clear out your back garden.

This firm and lovely creature is single. Calm down, gents.

Bridget is awesome at pulling on thick, woody shafts.

 So we yanked and raked and clipped for hours. It sucked. We got pokey things stuck in our pants and hair, scratches on our arms, dirt in out buttcracks. But:

After! 

We finished it up! It looks so much better and we yanked out all the creeper. In a few months I can actually plant a vegetable garden here. Hooray!
So, to thank my sister for her help I decided to make her Shrimp Saganaki for lunch! This is a Greek shrimp appetizer that I order whenever I see it on diner menus.
So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pan)
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more, if you like it HOT)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup ripe tomatos (chopped)
Ouzo! Enough to deglaze the pan--about 1/4 cup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound shrimp
1 handful parsley (chopped)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)

Directions (use a pan that can go in the oven):
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Deglaze with the ouzo.
4. Add the tomato and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 7 minutes. I covered it for a few minutes to encourage saucification as well.
5. Add the shrimp. Space out and bury in the sauce.
6. Top with the feta cheese.
8. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until the sauce is bubbly, about 10 minutes.
9. Eat!  

 The most difficult ingredient to find was ouzo--a Greek, anise-scented liquor. I found it at Argonaut's, because they have everything. All the other stuff was easily located at Albertsons.

 

The ingredients

Plus red pepper flakes! I forgot to put those in the previous picture.

The sauce bubbling away. This is the garlic, onions, red pepper, ouzo, and tomatoes. I am waiting till it looks saucy enough. 

The finished saganaki. We decided to eat it on the deck so that we could gaze upon the garden at the same time. 

I needed a glass of wine, considering I had to go to Home Depot today.

Serve with sourdough toast.

This was an easy, delicious lunch. Garlicky, tomato-y, and just slightly licorice-scented, thanks to the ouzo. I would make it again for a weeknight dinner, an appetizer--anything.

Yum.Consuela is so pissed we didn't share.