The versatile shrimp

            Did someone forget to tell April that “April Fools” only applied to the first day of the month?  Having had a brief teasing taste of summer in March, I somehow feel cheated with all these cold nights and cool, but sunny and dry days of April. It does make it easy to get the garden chores done, but even the garden seems confused. Our purple crocuses and daffodils next to the house seem to be holding up, but our rhubarb poked out it’s curled up leaf buds and stopped dead. It was too cold.

            Spring gardening season or not, friends occasionally come to visit and lunch can be a convenient time for entertaining, even if the view out back still is mostly enlivened only by the stately birches. It was too chilly to have only a salad and soup and dietary restrictions for some took cake or pie off the menu.  So, I reverted to one of my lunch staples – shrimp. Shrimp is wonderfully versatile. It can be fried, sautéed, or prepared in a variety of sauces, salads and even soups.  I was looking for something relatively simple and pleasing to the eye on a plate to go with my Oriental spinach salad. Since Delano’s seafood is close by, the uncooked peeled shrimp were easy to obtain and with some puff pastry and a general perusal of our refrigerator, I was set to go. Sometimes, spur of the moment recipes, like flower arrangements, turn out better than expected. And since one of the guests asked for my recipe, I wrote it down and will share it here.

                                    Curried shrimp empanadas  

            Sauté quickly for 1-2 minutes 1 pound large shrimp in 2 Tblsp. olive oil and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Remove from heat and cut shrimp in thirds, removing the tail. This could be simplified by using Maine shrimp that only need cooking for 1 minute and do not need to be cut. Chop 1 shallot, 1 small seeded jalapeño, ½ red and ½ yellow pepper, 1 cold cooked potato, ½ cup artichoke hearts.  In another pan sauté the chopped vegetables in 1Tbls. olive oil and 1 tsp. sesame oil. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1 tsp. Madras curry powder (or more to taste), 2 Tblsp. chopped parsley and 8 oz cubed cream cheese.

            Unfold a sheet of room temperature puff pastry and on a slightly floured board roll it out to 11-12 inches square. Cut in half and brush all edges with 1 egg beaten with 2 tsp. cold water. Place one quarter of the mix crosswise on each half of the pastry sheet, fold the sheet over and seal the edges by crimping with a fork. Repeat with the other puff pastry sheet yielding 4 large empanadas. Place empanadas on a large pan lined with parchment and brush each empanada with the egg mix. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes until golden. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve.

            To make smaller empanadas, cut each rolled out sheet in 4 and fold over filling in a triangular manner giving a smaller triangular pocket. Brush with egg as above and bake for 15-18 minutes. In either case, these can be served on a large plate next to a colorful salad,

                                                Oriental Spinach salad

            In a large bowl toss together ½ bag of washed and dried baby spinach, 4 oz. sliced water chestnuts, ½ yellow pepper sliced in thin strips, ¾ cup drained mandarin orange slices and dressing (1 ½ Tblsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 Tblsp. rice vinegar, 2 Tblsp. apple juice, 1 tsp. soy sauce). Sprinkle with 1 Tblsp. toasted sesame seeds.

A few slices of watermelon and some strawberries for desert gave us at least the illusion that despite the April fools, summer will come.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)