Shrimp are wonderful for the busy cook, they are completely done in less than 3 minutes! They are low in saturated fat and are a good source of niacin, iron, phosphorus and zinc, and a very good source of protein, vitamin B12 and selenium. Shrimp is fairly high in cholesterol, but still a great option for a quick dinner.
My tips; always check your shrimp or any other seafood using the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website. They even have a smart-phone app so you can check WHILE you are at the store or restaurant. Always ask where your seafood is coming from, if a restaurant doesn't know or seems cagey about answering that is NOT the place you want to buy seafood, I promise you. When cleaning fresh shrimp, take the shells off from the bottom of the shrimp where the scales part naturally, the legs will come right off too. You can take tails off or leave them for cooking (I prefer to remove them). Take a small sharp paring knife and slice down the top/back of the shrimp and then use the knife tip to lift out the vein. I usually give all of the shrimp a quick blast of cold water in a colander and then dry them with a paper towel before cooking. Then I sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt and a dash of pepper.
I cook shrimp in a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat; for instance my iron skillet. Make sure you cook in some sort of fat as well, olive oil, butter, bacon grease, something. Once the fish turn pink and curl they are done! Remove them from the heat immediately or they will over cook and become tough. And I don't mean remove the pan from the heat (though you should do that too) I mean get those shrimp out of the pan! They will continue to cook in the residual heat.
I usually prepare the Shrimp Alfredo in this order, prepare the pasta/cook the vegetables, make the alfredo sauce and then cook the shrimp, then I combine all of my ingredients on the plate. Toss together to coat everything with the nice creamy alfredo and you are good to go, maybe add a little garnish of fresh parsley.
Alfredo recipe, please!
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ReplyDeleteTake half a stick of butter and dice up 1/4 C very fine shallots or onion. Sautee until translucent. If I happen to have some roasted garlic on hand I also add it at this stage. Add 1 C of heavy cream (I sometimes use half and half) and bring to a low boil. Stirring continuously add 1 C of very finely ground REAL parmesan or Parmiggiano-Reggiano to the milk a little at a time until well combined. Take off the heat and serve immediately over hot pasta. Top with a sprinkle of fresh Italian parsley of you've got it. If you like your Alfredo slightly thicker than this you can also add 1/2 C of mozzarella a little bit at a time, whisking it all into the cream until melted and combined.