Cooking for two

Quick-cooking shrimp is a skillet supper

Spiced Skillet Shrimp
Spiced Skillet Shrimp

No news flash here: Shrimp cooks fast. But you might not have tried it before with this particular blend of spices, chives and citrus.

If you are starting with frozen shrimp, add 15 minutes to the preparation time. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl filled with cool water. Defrost for 15 minutes, changing the water a few times and separating any shrimp that have clumped together.

In warmer weather, it’s nice to serve the shrimp nestled in leaves of bibb lettuce. These days, think about using them to top a bed of couscous with sauteed vegetables stirred in, or wrapping them in a warm flour tortilla.

Spiced Skillet Shrimp

1/4 cup peanut oil

1 teaspoon whole allspice berries

1 teaspoon whole fennel seed

1 tablespoon shredded peeled fresh ginger

3/4 to 1 pound fresh or defrosted tail-on, peeled and deveined extra-large shrimp

1/2 lemon

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the allspice berries and fennel seed, or combine them in a small zip-top bag, seal and crush with a rolling pin.

Once the oil shimmers, add the ginger and crushed spices;

stir constantly for 1 or 2 minutes, until the ginger turns light brown. Add the shrimp;

fry 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly, just until the shrimp turn pink and opaque.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a serving bowl. Squeeze the juice from the lemon half evenly over the shrimp, being careful not to let seeds slip through.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle the chives on top.

Serve immediately.

Makes about 3 servings.

Recipe adapted from Southern Fried: More Than 150 Recipe for Crab Cakes, Fried Chicken, Hush Puppies and More by James Villas (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)

Food, Pages 34 on 01/01/2014

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