EASY WEEKNIGHT SHRIMP

 

                                            Easy weeknight shrimp

           Summer may be winding down all too soon, but our days are still full of activities trying to capture the joys of summer in Maine. The home cook needs to come up with interesting and tasty meals without having to spend too much time in the kitchen. The grill is a wonderful resource tool for burgers, steak, chicken, sausages and even corn and zucchini. However, one of my favorite summer staples is shrimp. They can be conveniently kept in your freezer and are on hand for days when you are short of time.

          Frozen cooked shrimp are naturally ready made for appetizers and great for salads.  Raw frozen shrimp defrost in an hour at room temperature or more quickly under cold water, though too long an exposure to water will make them soggy. Shelled deveined raw shrimp easily adapt to many different flavors for a variety of interesting recipes. For those cooks addicted to the grill, shrimp marinated for 15 minutes in Italian dressing are wonderful quickly grilled by themselves or in kebabs with sausage and green or red peppers. The following recipes are for two to three persons and easily scale up to accommodate more diners.

                                              Easy shrimp Diavolo

          Shell and devein ½ lb. large or extra-large shrimp and sauté in 2 tbsp. olive oil with 1 minced garlic clove to pink and set aside.

          In the same pan add ½ tbsp. more olive oil and sauté on medium heat for 4 minutes: 1 thinly sliced small onion, ½ red pepper seeded and cut in julienne strips and 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms. Stir in ½ cup dry white wine, 1 tbsp. double strength tomato paste, 1 tsp. anchovy paste, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and couple of shakes of Tabasco (optional).  Cook for 2 minutes, stir in the shrimp. Cook another minute and serve on hot pasta garnished with fresh basil leaves.

                                      Shrimp and shitake on cheesy polenta

          Regular polenta made of finely ground cornmeal requires 30 minutes of cooking with fairly constant stirring. This recipe takes advantage of quick cooking polenta thus significantly shortening the process. Bring 2 cups of water with ½ tsp. salt and 1 tbsp. butter to boil, carefully stir in ½ cup quick cooking polenta and cook for 3 minutes with constant stirring, dispersing any lumps that have formed and set aside for 5 minutes before stirring again and serving.

          In a large pan heat 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp butter and sauté 10-12 extra-large shrimp to pink and set aside. In the same pan add 1 tbsp. butter and 4 oz. sliced shitake and ½ thinly sliced red onion. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes without turning. Add: 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp. fish sauce, 2 tsp. Sicilian seasoning, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley, 2 tblsp. chopped fresh basil and ½ cup chicken broth. Cook to reduce volume, stir in shrimp for 1 minute and serve on cheesy polenta.

          Fortunately, we are still in blueberry season, and so it was time to resurrect Sally Lunn, a simple old fashioned coffee cake from my 1957 Meta Givens “Encyclopedia of Cooking” and dress it up with slivered almonds and some raw sugar.

                                                     blueberry Sally Lunn

          Spray with buttery baking spray an 8x8x2 inch glass baking dish and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse a pint of fresh blueberries, pick out any stems and toss with 1 tbsp. sugar in a small bowl.

          Whisk together 1 ½ cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder and ¼ tsp. salt. In a large bowl beat 3 tblsp. soft butter with ½ cup sugar to fluffy, stir in 1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice and grated lemon rind from ½ lemon. Using a wooden spoon add the flour mixture alternating with ½ cup and 2 tbsp milk, starting and ending with flour. In the thick batter gently fold in the blueberries and spread everything in the prepared baking dish. In a small pan melt 1 tbsp. butter, lightly toast 1/3 cup slivered almonds and spread them on top of the batter. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. raw sugar and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

          To paraphrase Julia child: “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces (in summer)– just good food with fresh ingredients”.

                (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day:” and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)