Shrimp Via My Ma
Serves 4 • Prep Time: 10 minutes • Cook Time: 15 minutes
Is there really such thing as an original recipe? You know there’s gotta be a hieroglyphic version of tomato sauce entombed in some pyramid. The best we can hope to do is improve on the long line of recipes that evolved into the most current version. So it goes here. The DNA of this shrimp dish ends with Mrs. John Eager, who contributed her favorite dish to a cookbook my mother stumbled across circa 1973, courtesy of the Women’s Committee of Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum. Mom riffed on that and came up with the Shrimp Elizabeth she made on many a Friday nights. I loved its fresh flavor, thanks to the lemon zest kicker, and I messed with the recipe for years myself. It even became my standard offering on first dates. (Love me, love my food. No exceptions—at least back then.) Paradoxically, sometimes the more you play with a recipe, the harder it is to pin down on paper. When I finally nailed it, I called Mom. She had no idea I’d been so enamored with her recipe. As I read her my latest version, I could feel her nodding in approval. By the way, shrimp is a protein dynamo, with just 4 ounces providing nearly 24 grams of protein, along with a blast of revitalizing vitamin B12 and omega-3s.
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced fennel
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, raw or roasted
Sea salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, bell pepper, and a generous pinch of salt and saut until the onion is golden, about 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the juice from the tomatoes to deglaze the skillet, stirring to loosen any bits that have stuck to the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced by one-quarter. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, oregano, and a pinch of salt and cook until the liquid has reduced by another one-quarter. Add the shrimp, a squeeze of the lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and stir gently to combine. Cover and cook until the shrimp is just done, about 3 minutes. Gently stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley. Taste; you may want to add another pinch of salt or lemon zest or spritz of lemon juice. Serve immediately.
COOK’S NOTE: You can make the sauce in advance, omitting the shrimp, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley. Reheat it, add the shrimp, and cook for 3 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked, right before you’re ready to begin serving.
PHOTO CREDIT: PARKER FEIERBACH
Reprinted with permission from The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods. Copyright © 2013 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.