Friday, November 6, 2009

Garlic Basil Shrimp

Garlic Basil Shrimp

I used to spend most of Saturday morning and afternoon watching Food Network shows and getting ideas. Unfortunately, the range of hosts on that channel is barely tolerable so I find myself tuning in less and less. Sometimes though, I still like to catch up on repeat episodes of Ellie Krieger's show. I find her personality to be a little dry and boring, but her recipes are very good and she is certainly not as annoying as some of the current "talent" on the network. In a repeat episode, I saw this recipe and immediately set out to make it. The tomatoes are definitely dwindling at the farmers market, but a small basket of organic cherry tomatoes was a pretty good bargain as was a little bundle of basil. I had all the rest except for the wine. I briefly considered subbing chicken stock and lemon juice for the wine, but was happy to purchase an inexpensive bottle couple of days later. I suppose if you don't drink wine (the horror!), you can do the chicken stock/lemon juice sub. Served on top of my favorite harvest grains mix, this was a really simple meal. Unfortunately my coworkers don't like it so much when I have shrimpy leftovers for lunch, but whatever...they sure aren't complaining when I bring those baked goods in!

Garlic Basil Shrimp

I hope you all have a good weekend. I'm heading up to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival and I could not be more excited. It's going to be a great weekend of eating and drinking. I'm sure I will have plenty to Twitter about and I promise to take lots of pictures and share stories when I return.



Garlic Basil Shrimp
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger)

Makes 2-3 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pounds large shrimp (20 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch dried hot red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
6 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the oil remaining in skillet and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add wine and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in basil and tomatoes and season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Return the shrimp to pan and cook just until heated through.

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15 comments:

Jenn said...

Fantastic looking shrimp. I want this for lunch today.

Have fun in SF!!!

vanillasugarblog said...

oh girl have fun in san fran.
and yes I hear you about the declining talent seen on the food network shows. bring back those good old days when everything was made from scratch and the pretty shiny people weren't in control.

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a lovely and healthy recipe. This looks and sounds delicious.

Erica said...

I agree- Ellie is a little dry but I have never been disappointed by any of her recipes. Her four cheese macaroni (aka squash mac n cheese) is one of my favorite dishes. Hope you have a great weekend

Alicia Foodycat said...

You always make shrimp look so wonderful! The grain mix underneath it looks wonderful too.

Heather said...

is that israeli couscous? it's my new obsession!! this looks so tasty! i know nick and i would love it!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

What a fantastic dish. Have a great week-end.

Unknown said...

alright, now you've done it. i'm hungry!! and waiting for my friend for dinner :/

it was so great to meet you!!! i'll think about making a trip out to LA, but you should start planning your venture to france ;)

Linda said...

So nice to meet you at FoodBuzz! And hope we cross paths again...

Your cooking is beautiful. I look forward to following your recipes.

Simones Kitchen said...

Ooo, you've also been to the Foodbuzz festival! I wish I could have gone too! That dish looks delicious!

m said...

The grain mix is from Trader Joe's. Its the Harvest Mix. It's pretty good, but make sure you cook it with chicken broth, not water.

Juliana said...

Yummie, the shrimps look absolutely delicious...love it! Like the simplicity of the dish :-)

Olga said...

what a pretty dish! I need to find Israeli cous cous somewhere. I ate them only once and wasn't a huge fan, but should give them another try.

Michelle from Taste As You Go said...

This looks absolutely delicious! I'm bookmarking the recipe to try later :)

PS. I met Ellie Krieger once. We were both waiting in line to try clothes on at the Gap in NYC. Tiny moment of fame right there. Ha!

nihaty said...

Many of the necessary vitamins are found in garlic as a natural antibiotic and food should be consumed in more than gives great flavor