How To – Roasted Tomato and Cilantro Shrimp
Whenever I see bags of frozen, uncooked shrimp on sale I buy a couple and leave them in the freezer. Shrimp are great on those days when you get home from work, you don’t have any protein ready for dinner and you want something delicious.
This recipe is quick to prepare and is full of flavour. You can make a little or a lot without much effort. As for the veggies, I made this recipe with Tuscan kale and red peppers. You can use whatever you have on hand. Carrots and cabbage, or broccoli and fennel. Heck, if you don’t have any veggies on hand, that’s fine, too. I prefer this recipe served with rice. Again, use your favourite type – or what you have on hand. I always have white jasmine rice because it’s the fastest to make (only 12 minutes!) but brown basmati, wild rice, or plain white rice will work just as well. Also, I add a bit of butter to this recipe at the end. If you want to keep it dairy-free, you can skip this step. This recipe is scaled for 4 people.
- 1 lb raw shrimp the size of the shrimp doesn’t matter. If they are little you get more. If they are big you get fewer.
- 2 tbsp Butter (optional)
- 3 tbsp Pickles Eh! Roasted Tomato and Cilantro Chutney
- 1 tbsp olive oil plus more for sauteeing
- juice from half a lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3-4 cups Tuscan Kale roughly chopped
- 2 cups red pepper roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced horizontally
- 1 shallot or small cooking onion chopped
- Fresh Cilantro (optional)
- If not already thawed, defrost the frozen shrimp by soaking in cool water. Change the water every 5 minutes or so and remove any ice. Make sure the water is never warmer than room temp.
- As the shrimp are defrosting, make the marinade. In a bowl large enough to hold the shrimp, stir together all marinade ingredients. When the shrimp are defrosted, add them to the marinade. You can marinate for as little time as it takes to prepare the vegetables, or for as long as 8 hours, if you planned ahead. If you are doing a short marinade (30 min) you can do so at room temp. If longer, put the bowl in the fridge.
- Chop the vegetables.
- Blanch the kale by filling a large skillet with 1.5-2 inches of water. Throw in some salt and bring to a bowl. Put in the chopped kale for about 1 minute. Drain and rinse the kale with cold water until the kale is cold. You could also put the kale in a bowl of ice water. Once cool, dry the kale with paper towel.
- Dry the skillet (no need to wash it) and put it back on the stovetop. Slick the bottom of the skillet with olive oil and heat to med-high.
- When the pan is ready, put in your shallot/onion. (You can test if the pan is ready by adding a drop or two of water. If it sizzles, the pan is ready). Sweat the onions till they are soft. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic. Stir the garlic frequently as it can burn easily. Cook the garlic until it is softens. Add the peppers. You can turn the heat back up a bit because the peppers will add moisture to the pan and help to prevent the garlic from burning. Sautee till the peppers soften. Add the kale. Sautee for a few more minutes until the whole pan is sizzling, aromatic, and the veggies are a softened, but still have some crunch.
- Make a well in the centre of the pan by pushing the vegetables to the edges. Add a bit more olive oil to the centre of the pan if it appears dry. Leaving the marinade in the bowl, add the shrimp to the pan. Uncooked shrimp are grey/white in colour. When they are cooked, they become pink/coral coloured. Once one side of the shrimp is cooked, flip them over to cook the other side. Once the shrimp are pink, add the marinade to the pan. Stir everything together and make sure any liquid is brought to a boil.
- If adding butter, do so now and stir till the butter melts.
- Serve over rice.
