Genius Recipes
Spicy, Buttery Shrimp in Moments
This week’s Genius Recipe is a one-skillet Creole classic from Louisiana.
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17 Comments
Beverly C.
June 23, 2021
It is even better with rosemary added. Also, I have frequently increased the sauce and served over pasta. Less messy to eat.
piggledy
February 27, 2020
We fix dinner once or twice a week with my 88 yo mother, who still delights in new recipes. Sometimes she shops for groceries, sometimes, we. Increasingly, I cook. Sometimes, if there is a lot of prep like chopping, she does that before we arrive. Depends on our schedules. This week, we agreed, this recipe was a must try. Husband and I couldn’t wait, did a “practice run” Monday with 1/2# of Trader Joe’s Argentinian shrimp (yes, they are shelled and cleaned, but the recipe wasn’t hurt a bit by that! We love those shrimp, and use them to make shrimp and grits. Yum!) It was particularly useful to make the recipe twice. Both times, we were missing something, but both times, substitutions didn’t hurt the recipe. This lovely, flavorful sauce is wonderfully forgiving. The first time, we were caught with limes rather than lemons, sushi rice rather than French bread, and broccoli rather than salad. Lime juice was just fine in the sauce, the rice caught much of the sauce, and the roasted broccoli was a lovely foil for the shrimp. (I later caught naughty husband licking remaining sauce from his bowl in the kitchen!) We had a happy little dance in the kitchen, with the rice cooker nurturing our rice, the oven toaster roasting the broccoli, and me, building the lovely sauce. I will say, the second rendition
at Mom’s taught us how important fresher thyme and oregano can be. Despite her having discarded the flavorful juice from thawing the shrimp, Wednesday’s sauce was even better than Monday’s, with fresher herbs. French bread was perfect for cleaning up the remaining sauce from the bowls, and steamed artichokes rounded off a delightful meal. We agreed, this would make a lovely birthday dinner. This sauce has so many flavors, I believe it would still be great if rather than butter, one needed to use olive oil. The star of this play is the sauce, of course. The shrimp would be delicious even if it were merely boiled. We thought this would also be a lovely sauce for cubed, sautéed chicken, or, for the vegetarians among us, for cubed, sautéed tofu, or even chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Once could serve with polenta, bulgur, rice, or orzo, and it would still be delicious. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for this fabulous and easy addition to our repertoire!
at Mom’s taught us how important fresher thyme and oregano can be. Despite her having discarded the flavorful juice from thawing the shrimp, Wednesday’s sauce was even better than Monday’s, with fresher herbs. French bread was perfect for cleaning up the remaining sauce from the bowls, and steamed artichokes rounded off a delightful meal. We agreed, this would make a lovely birthday dinner. This sauce has so many flavors, I believe it would still be great if rather than butter, one needed to use olive oil. The star of this play is the sauce, of course. The shrimp would be delicious even if it were merely boiled. We thought this would also be a lovely sauce for cubed, sautéed chicken, or, for the vegetarians among us, for cubed, sautéed tofu, or even chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Once could serve with polenta, bulgur, rice, or orzo, and it would still be delicious. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for this fabulous and easy addition to our repertoire!
Ana C.
February 22, 2020
I'm making this tonight. Is cleaning the shrimp not necessary so you don't get the vein?
FrugalCat
February 21, 2020
This was fabulous. I cut out the salt and added sliced green olives. Plenty of crusty, toasted french bread for dipping.
Scott B.
February 19, 2020
Would there be anything wrong with doubling the sauce ingredients?
Iggy504
February 19, 2020
I always make it with extra sauce, especially when there's a crowd. You can also stretch the sauce with some olive oil or more butter.
Kristen M.
February 19, 2020
The only thing to watch out for is that sometimes doubling cayenne can amp up the heat even more than expected, so you might want to start with the same amount or 1.5x. But otherwise, you won't be sorry about more sauce!
Scott B.
February 20, 2020
Thanks! That makes sense as you can always add more spice. I might even add a bit of heavy cream unless that is sacrilegious! :)
kc
February 19, 2020
I’ve been making a version of this recipe for years. We love it! Served it over cheesy blue cheese grits! Yum!!
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