By Iron Chef Leftovers
Being a good catholic boy and being pretty hungry tonight, I decided I needed something quick and filling to take care of my situation. I also wanted something with a kick. I had some nice gulf shrimp, so I decided to use them. I came up with a simple, recipe that won’t take more than 15 minutes or so for a nice sautéed shrimp dish.
The Software
3/4 lb raw shrimp or prawns, peeled
1/3 stick of butter
1/3 lb pasta, cooked (I prefer penne for this dish, but any pasta will do)
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Mama Lil’s Goathorn Peppers
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
The Dish
Peel the shells off the shrimp (and save them for stock – you could put them in a zip top bag and freeze them). In a bowl sprinkle flour, a small amount of salt, a few grinds of pepper and garlic on the shrimp and toss to coat. Let sit until pasta is in the water, about 10 minutes.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente, about 6-7 minutes. Drain but do not rinse the pasta. Reserve a little pasta water.
When the water is at a boil, add butter to a sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt until foam subsides and butter begins to turn a bit brown (it shouldn’t take more that 2 or 3 minutes, so you need to keep an eye on it). Take shrimp, shake off excess flour and add to pan with red pepper flakes. Cook on first side for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. DON’T MOVE THEM IN THE PAN – your pan will be hot enough that they won’t stick. Flip and add the goathorn peppers and cook for another 2 minutes 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add pasta, parsley, cream and, if you want a little more sauce, a bit of pasta water and toss to combine. Check seasonings and add any additional salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
The amounts in this recipe are a best guess on the seasoning, feel free to adjust them as you like, especially the pepper flakes. I use the Mama Lil’s Sweet Hot Peppers, but any pickled pepper will do, or, if you like, you can leave them out altogether. I highly recommend using either a stainless steel or non-reactive aluminum sauté pan for this, rather than a non-stick pan – you won’t be able to see when the butter begins to brown in the non-stick pan and you risk burning it. I used 16-20 count shrimp, which I think are the ideal size for this recipe, but you can use whatever size is convenient. The smaller the shrimp, the less cooking time you will need. I would highly recommend not using anything smaller than 26-30 count (also known as Extra Large) as they become difficult to peel. Make sure your shrimp are raw and they should be untreated. Shrimp treated with Sodium Tripolyphosphate tend to be really soggy and don’t properly sear. If you are buying them frozen in a bag, check the ingredients – it shouldn’t contain more than shrimp and salt. If you are buying them from a fish counter, ask the fishmonger if the shrimp have been treated with anything.
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