Fun With Shrimp and Fish

By Kelly Ross

Our food focus today is based upon the great underwater treats we love to enjoy, specifically most of these being shrimp recipes, plus a stuffed salmon and pan-seared cod recipe. I’m a big fan of all of these. No doubt I do love the entire treasure chest of tasty choices we get from the ocean, lakes and streams, as there is nothing from the water world I don’t like, but these three are arguably the best as far as the combos of flavor, affordability as well as availability…. The Perfect Trifecta. For starters, here’s an appetizer that is a great twist on one of the most famous apps of all time, that being a shrimp cocktail. Let’s take that and bring a south of the border twist to it, shall we? It’s no mystery what shrimp cocktail is, but instead of a traditional cocktail sauce, the sauce for this is a fresh veggie and herb sauce that some of the shrimp swim in, and the flavor is so good. Depending on what size shrimp you buy, combined with how many shrimp you want to serve per person, and how many people you want to serve will dictate how many you will feed with this, but you’ll likely serve a minimum of 4-6, and maybe more. It’s a quick one to throw together, although I suggest a 2-hour refrigerated marinating time. The recipe includes using the spicy V-8 juice that’s out there, or just buy the regular version and spice it up yourself.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

1 lb large shrimp peeled and deveined. I suggest 26/30 in size or maybe 20/24

1 ¼ cups cherry tomatoes diced

1 cup English cucumber diced

½ cup red onion finely diced

1 tbsp jalapeño pepper diced seeds and ribs removed

½ cup ketchup

1 cup spicy V8 tomato juice

1 large lime, juiced

2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped

1-4 dashes hot sauce depending on your taste

1 large avocado, cubed

Bring 1 cup of salted water to a boil. Add the uncooked shrimp, lightly stir and cook until the shrimp turn pink, 1 ½ -2 minutes depending on the actual size you choose. Drain the shrimp, put them into a prepared ice water bath to shock them, drain again and set aside.

Place chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and jalapeños in a mixing bowl. Add ketchup, spicy V-8, lime juice, cilantro, and hot sauce. Gently mix until ingredients are well blended. Reserve 2-3 shrimp per serving and set aside with the tails on to garnish around the rim of each individual serving dish, then chop the shrimp into bite-size pieces or in half, again depending on size. Stir chopped shrimp into the tomato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap. Place reserved whole shrimp in a separate bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate all the shrimp for 1-2 hours minimum. If mixture seems a bit thick, add a little more tomato juice or pickle juice. When ready to serve stir in the avocado chunks to each dish, ideally in clear glass bowls or wine glasses. Garnish the rims with the reserved whole shrimp and more chopped cilantro leaves. I consider this to be 10fold better than the original version of shrimp cocktail.

The second and last app of the day, is for a larger crowd, although if you want to bust out your math skills, you can always bulk up any recipe. This one is for 2 ½ lbs of shrimp and the dipping sauce is a great tangy tomato sauce. This takes an hour or so, plus marinating time, and can feed as many as 10 as an appetizer.

Ginger Garlic Shrimp with Tangy Tomato Sauce

For The Shrimp

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh garlic

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp minced fresh minced ginger

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 ½ lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined

For The Dipping Sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 stalks of fresh lemongrass, tender and inner bulb only, minced

1 ½ lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Kosher salt

In a large bowl, mix the vegetable oil with the parsley, garlic, basil, ginger, lemon juice, salt and crushed red pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least

2 hours and as many as 4. For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. Stir in the ginger, garlic and lemongrass and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, still over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Season with salt. Transfer the sauce to individual ramekins for as many people as you are serving. Light a grill. Loosely thread the shrimp onto 8-10 skewers. Grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a platter, push them off the skewers and serve with the tomato sauce and let everyone dig in.

If you read my articles regularly, you know how much I love many funky tacos recipes and sharing many taco recipes, so here we go again. Again, shrimp is the main character, they are pan fried and chock full of flavor and spice. This includes great crunch from a great slaw mix, whether a traditional slaw mix or a broccoli mix, and a great cool sauce to offset the spice, some- what like blue cheese dressing does for some good old-fashioned Buffalo wings. These will be done in a half hour and can feed 4-6, again depending on shrimp size and how many per serving. I usually plan on 2 tacos per person but you know your crowd better than I do.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos

2 ½ cups shredded cabbage and/or broccoli mix, about 5 oz

1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp kosher salt

Zest and juice of 1 large or 2 very small limes, about 2 tsp zest and 3 tbsp juice

3 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce

½ tsp sriracha/hot sauce, plus additional at service time

½ tsp white vinegar

For the Shrimp Tacos

1 lb large/jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

2-3 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Corn or flour tortillas, 6 inches in diameter

Chopped green onions and/or any other extras you may want

Place the cabbage/slaw mix in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate large bowl, stir together the yogurt, oil, garlic, and salt. Scoop about half of the yogurt mixture into the bowl with the cabbage, then add the lime zest and juice. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, add the remaining yogurt mixture, the Thai sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and vinegar. Set it aside. For the shrimp, pat the shrimp dry and place in a large zip-top bag.

Sprinkle in the cornstarch, then seal the bag and toss the shrimp to coat. In a high-sided skillet, wok, or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Once it is hot and shimmering, carefully add the shrimp, shaking off as much excess cornstarch as you can. Sauté, stirring almost constantly, until the shrimp are cooked through, and the cornstarch is no longer white, 2-4 minutes depending on size. Do not overcook, and if the shrimp looks dry while cooking, drizzle in extra oil as needed. Transfer the shrimp to the bowl with the yogurt/ Thai chili mixture and toss to coat the shrimp in the sauce. If you like, warm the tortillas in the microwave by putting them in a stack and cover them with a lightly damp towel, or do so in a 250-degree oven. To serve, fill the tortillas first with a little slaw, your desired number of shrimp and then more slaw, then top generously with green onions and a few dabs of hot sauce. The slaw mix can be refrigerated for 3 days depending on when you want to make that.

Let’s talk about some dinner entrees now and if you are a fan of cod or haddock, and especially with a delicious white wine tomato sauce with fresh basil, this one should be right up your alley. White flaky fish is one of the few from the fish world that doesn’t work well on a grill due to its consistency, unless doing so in a foil packet, but this one is done in the kitchen by pan searing and finishing with its scrumptious sauce. Being as delicate as white fish is, I strongly suggest using a nonstick pan to avoid the fish getting stuck to the pan as you ideally want to keep the fish intact. This recipe will feed 4 and total time is in the 35-45 minutes range.

Pan Seared Cod in White Wine

Tomato Basil Sauce

For the White Wine Tomato Basil Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 large cloves garlic, finely minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, ideally a mix of red and yellow

¼ cup dry white wine

½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp fresh lemon zest

½ tsp salt

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