My taste buds must be catatonic most of the time. You have to whack them with garlic and shock them with lemon to get them to wake up. Subtlety is frequently lost on me. In fact, I think the word "subtle" generally means bland. Don't you? Or is that just me?
Imagine how excited I became when I found Andrew Carmellini's new book, Urban Italian. The combination of garlic, lemon, and chopped red onion is hardly new, but I'd forgotten all about it until I started flipping through his book. And I was flipping through his book because I had a pound of shrimp, not much else, and no ideas.
I did have the aforementioned shrimp, a can of beans, and some salad. Although technically an antipasti, this recipe is perfect for two, with a few of the shrimp dispersed among the children who are willing to eat them. Add a lovely, crisp Pinot Grigio (for authenticity) and you have a meal that can be whipped up in fifteen minutes or less. Because the only cooking involved is a moment of garlic sauteing and a quick sear of the shrimp, it's perfect for an unexpectedly unbearable hot May evening.
I made a few alterations--children demand to be accommodated, after all (and although you're supposed to ignore that kind of thing, after all these years I'm too, too exhausted to fight that endless fight. My line in the sand is that they must eat what we eat--with a few, um, accccommodations).
Andrew Carmellini's Rock Shrimp with Cannellini Bean, amended
Bean salad:
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans (I actually used Great Northern beans because that's what I had)
1/4 cup red onion, minced within an inch of its life
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
Splash of hot sauce
Drain and rinse the beans; mix all of the ingredients together and let sit while you make the shrimp.
Carmelli says you can add a little pesto (actually, I think it would be nice drizzled underneath or around the perimeter of the plate--unfortunately, I didn't have any).
Shrimp:
1 lb. shrimp (brined)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or more (I didn't want to kill my fledgling rosemary plants by completely denuding them)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon parsley or more, chopped
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (if you didn't brine)
Freshly ground pepper
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (Carmelli suggests 1/2 teaspoon and I would have used this if I hadn't had children hungrily staring at me. As it was, I put this little bit in when they weren't looking).
Blot the shrimp thoroughly and in a wide skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil over high-ish heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and white. Turn down the heat immediately.
Pull your pan off the heat to avoid burning the garlic (which it's now time to add), add a little more oil, plus the red pepper flakes. Put the pan back on a medium-low flame and saute of for a minute or two and remove from the heat again. Add the last two tablespoons of oil, thyme, rosemary, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Spoon the beans on two plates and arrange the shrimp on top, remembering to toss a few on another plate so your children won't starve. Naturally, if your children eat beans, double the above bean recipe. Mine don't, so I made a little pasta with butter--the default--on the side. Drizzle it all with a little more olive, if you like.
Ahhhhhhh. So easy and so wonderful!
Does giving the children Pinot Grigio make the evenings flow smoother?
Posted by: John | Friday, May 22, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Along with garlic, onion and lemon I think the best staple is beans! Add them to anything for a quick filling meal. If I need to accompany my wine I will simmer some white beans with garlic, onion and sage, or rosemary or whatever. Any fruity red wine does great, Dolcetto, Barbera, if its a tannic Southwest French Cahor or Madiran or Frontonais wine I throw some butter in there. A little bacon for good measure.
Posted by: Stevie | Friday, May 22, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Can I ask what brined shrimp are? We get them in 2 ways - raw or cooked, so I'm intrigued to know what these are?
thanks
Susan
Posted by: Susan | Friday, June 05, 2009 at 07:44 AM
Most shrimp are previously frozen when you buy them. To plump them up and make them juicier,brine them by soaking them in a bowl of water with two tablespoons of coarse salt for about 20-30 minutes, then rinse, dry, and cook. If they ARE frozen, just defrost in the salted water and rinse, etc. when they're ready.
Posted by: Brandon | Monday, June 08, 2009 at 09:34 AM