The Flexitarian Table: Shrimp with Harissa

So sorry I forgot to mention that I would be away for a long weekend -- I had a great time in Chicago visiting with friends. To make up for the quiet on the blog front though, I have recipes for a whole meal to post!

I've been obsessing over a new cookbook I borrowed from the library: The Flexitarian Table by Peter Berley. The book focuses on flexible menus that can easily accommodate both vegetarian and non-vegetarian eaters with just slight changes in the prep. By interchanging vegetable proteins, such as tofu or eggs, for meats and applying the same recipe to both, Berley presents a wonderful array of meals that I am dying to try. The book is divided by season and most menus are geared toward two vegetarian servings and two- non veg servings, so it's easy to adjust for just two people. This is just the first of many meals I plan to make from from the book.

I was curious about the harissa in this recipe because I had made harissa once before with a very different texture. This has similar spices but without the red peppers and is the perfect accompaniment to tender shrimp. Delicious! There's a lot going on here, so read through everything first and if possible, do all your chopping and prep for the whole meal before starting to cook anything. The vegetarian version in the book served an egg on top instead of shrimp.

Shrimp in Harissa with Fresh Corn Polenta, Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes and Grilled Zucchini in Mint Oil

Serves 2.

POLENTA

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tb unsalted butter

1/2 tsp seal or kosher salt

1/2 cup medium corn grits

1/2 cup corn kernels (from 1 large or 2 small ears)

1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced, white separated and reserved for tomatoes

Preheat oven to 200º F.

In medium ovenproof saucepan, bring water to a boil over high heat. Add butter and salt, then stir in grits and corn and continue to stir until water returns to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in scallion green, cover and transfer to oven to keep warm.

(Note: If you are broiling your shrimp, as I did, you won't be able to keep the polenta warm in the oven. Try to plan to have the polenta ready right before you broil the shrimp. Then simply keep the polenta covered on the back of the stove top -- burner off -- and it should stay plenty warm.)

SHRIMP

2 tsp ground cumin, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp ground fennel, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp ground caraway, preferably toasted and freshly ground
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tsp sea or kosher salt
5 Tb olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a medium bowl, stir together cumin, fennel, caraway, cayenne and salt. Whisk in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Toss shrimp in mixture and marinate 10 to 15 minutes. Do not marinade for longer as the acid of the lemon will start to cook the shrimp and make it tough.

Preheat broiler or grill.

Thread shrimp onto skewers (if using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using). Cook under broiler or grill until cooked through, turning once, about 3 minutes per side.

TOMATOES

2 Tb olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2-3 Tb mixed fresh herbs, chopped (oregano, basil, parsley, tarragon, etc)

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, combine oil, tomatoes, garlic, reserved scallion white and red pepper flakes and cook over high heat, stirring, until tomatoes soften and begin to release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in herbs and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Divide polenta between two shallow soup plates. Spoon tomatoes and shrimp over top and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

But wait, there's more...

ZUCCHINI
1-2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/2-inch thick
Sea or kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tb coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle zucchini slices all over with salt. Lay flat on kitchen or paper towel to drain for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring just to a simmer and cook gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until garlic is golden. Add mint and remove from heat.

Light a grill or preheat broiler.

Brush off all the salt and pat zucchini dry. Lightly brush tops with mint oil. Place oiled side down on grill or broiler pan and cook, turning once, until softened and nicely browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (I put the zucchini under the broiler a couple of minutes before adding shrimp so all would finish at once.)

Transfer zucchini to platter and drizzle with 1-2 Tb of remaining mint oil and the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons

That is the name of a fantastic cookbook by Diana Henry that I received as a gift recently. It has many tasty-sounding Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African recipes, but I had yet to try any of them because they seemed to have so many exotic ingredients. However, I realized that this was mostly because each chapter starts with wonderful descriptions of various unusual ingredients and I had actually sat down and read all of these in depth, leaving me with the impression of all kinds of wonderful exotic places and tastes and smells. But I was determined this week to tackle something in there, and I went through the book and discovered that while there are some recipes with hard-to-find things like rose petals and orange flower water, there are plenty of approachable ones. I picked out a handful and started with Greek Herb Pilaf with Shrimp and Feta. It has a huge amount of herbs in it, so I was curious to see if they overwhelmed the dish — I am happy to say that they do not, but instead lend a unique and surprisingly mild flavor to the whole thing —not to mention the whole apartment smelled unbelievable.

This is only half the herbs, another equal portion is stirred into the cooked rice.

After some sauteeing, the rice is cooked with a towel-wrapped cover over it — I would assume to absorb the moisture.
This photo truly doesn't do it justice, but right as I finished we were interrupted by an unfortunate old dog having an accident incident. Poor dog. Yummy dinner. It's loaded with flavor, with lemon and olives and herbs and tomatoes and shrimp.

The best shrimp ever!

This is a recipe we keep going back to -- probably once a week even! And it just keeps getting better. It's adapted from a recipe at epicurious from Ken Hom's Foolproof Chinese Cooking. I've doubled the sauce, added snow peas and changed out black bean paste for chili-garlic paste.

Spicy Sichuan-Style Shrimp

• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 Tb finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1-2 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
• 2-3 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
• 1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• snow or snap peas
  

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3-4 teaspoons chili-garlic paste/sauce
  
• 4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons sesame oil
• Cilantro sprigs, to garnish (optional)

1. Heat a wok/large heavy saute pan over high heat. Add the oil, and when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the ginger, garlic, and scallions.

2. Stir-fry for 20 seconds, then add the shrimp and snow peas. Stir-fry the shrimp for about 1 minute.

3. Add the sauce ingredients and continue to stir-fry for another 3 minutes over a high heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve at once.

The best!!