Quickly cook the shrimp, deglaze the pan with a splash of wine, warm the fennel, carrots, celery, and onions with the pickling liquid, then pour everything over the shrimp. Refrigerate for a minimum of six hours to allow the flavors to develop and serve with sourdough, lemon wedges, and perhaps a pinch of arugula. This dish improves through day three, so don’t fret if you have leftovers, it’s great to have on hand for lunch!
Many summers ago, I toted this dish to a Dîner en Blanc held in front of our library. The shrimp held their chill and complemented our picnic of terrine, salmon rillettes, cornichon and radishes, watercress soup, ratatouille, baguettes, cheese, and rosé! (Perhaps Valerie and I went a little overboard, but it sure was fun!) Thank you to Dorie Greenspan for the original recipe, a sidebar to Sardine Escabeche in her wonderful book, Around My French Table.
Shrimp Escabeche
4–6 servings
Ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact wild-caught, Gulf coast
- 1 sprig rosemary optional
- 1 spring thyme optional
- splash white wine if you have one open
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 2 2 celery ribs, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼ teaspoon dried red chile flake (or two small dried red chiles)
Serve with sourdough and lemon wedges
Instructions
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Pour a couple tablespoons from the 3/4 cup of olive in into a large frying pan, warm over moderate heat, then add the shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink. Alternatively, poach the shrimp (see recipe on RiPE).
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Transfer shrimp to a ceramic or glass serving dish with 1-2 inch high sides. Add the herb sprigs.
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If you have a white wine open, splash in a couple tablespoons to deglaze the pan, (otherwise scrape out any stuck bits of shrimp), then add a couple tablespoons from the 3/4 cup of olive oil. Add the fennel, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
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Stir in the tomato paste, cook a minute, then add the remaining olive oil (approximately ½ cup at this point), vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander seeds, and chiles. Bring to simmer and cook 5 more minutes. Pour 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 sourdough and lemon wedges.
