This is the dish you want when you are hosting friends or if you want to treat yourself to a snacky dinner. Make the shrimp and veggies in advance (at least 6 hours to marinate, or best, overnight), they actually get better as the days go by! Mine are currently on Day 3. So far they have been the appetizer at a dinner party on Monday, snack before dinner yesterday, and quick nibble for lunch today.
I first made these shrimp to tote along to Dîner en Blanc back in August. They held their chill and were wonderful as part of our picnic along with a terrine, salmon rillettes, cornichon and radishes, watercress soup, ratatouille, and of course baguettes, cheese, and rosé! (Perhaps Valerie and I went a little overboard…but it sure was fun!)
Serve with a crusty bread and plenty of lemon wedges. Don’t forget to eat the veggies! Thank you to Dorie Greenspan for the original recipe, a sidebar to Sardine Escabeche in her wonderful book, Around My French Table.
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on (16/20 count)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 2 celery ribs, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp. red chile pepper flakes (or 2 dried red chiles)
- crusty bread
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan and briefly sauté the shrimp until they just turn pink. If you prefer, you can poach the shrimp (see Amy's Kitchen Coach Tips).
- Remove shrimp to a ceramic or glass serving dish with 1-2 inch high sides.
- Wipe out frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, and garlic. Cook until veggies start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining 3/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, salt, sugar, coriander seeds, and chiles. Bring to simmer and cook 5 more minutes.
- Pour the hot oil and veggie mixture over the shrimp and herbs in the serving dish. Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving, ideally overnight. Serve with bread and lemon wedges.
Amy’s Kitchen Coach Tips:
- Here’s how to poach shrimp
- If you love oil-packed, sun-dried tomatoes and you have some on hand, sliver a few and scatter them over the shrimp with the herb sprigs.
