by Nanette Geller

I have quite a backlog of posts I want to write. I’m going to try to catch up but meanwhile things may not be in the order we ate them!

A couple of weeks ago, I bought some “super colossal” shrimp on sale. As I wrote here, words like colossal are not actually meaningful for shrimp. These were U-8, which means under eight shrimp per pound. I bought six and wound up serving just two each, which was ample.

Since they were easy-peel, all I had to do was defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, then leave them in cold, very salty water for about 15 minutes to freshen them.

I marinated them for about 30 minutes with olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne. Bamboo skewers (soaked in water while the shrimp marinated) helped keep them from curling while they cooked.

A quick broil, just a couple of minutes on each side, and they were ready to serve. Cooking them in the shell adds flavor and helps keep the flesh moist.

Yukon Gold potatoes (from Milner Farms) roasted with Penzey’s Turkish seasoning.

Long beans (from Ho Farms) seared in hot oil until they started to brown, then simmered with Andy’s salsa until the salsa reduced to a glaze.

Fresh hearts of palm (Wailea Ag Group) marinated in a light dressing of olive oil, Myer lemon juice (also Wailea Ag Group), Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme (SKA Tropicals).

Calamansi to squeeze over the shrimp (also SKA).

Not pictured: a platter of lovely green leaf lettuce, a gift from my friend, picked that day in her friend’s organic garden.

These were good, but a few days later we found fresh Kona Kea shrimp at the KCC farmer’s market. The fresh, local shrimp were so much better that I doubt I’ll bother buying frozen shrimp again.

Permalink posted by Nanette @ 6/16/2011 05:40:00 PM