South Carolina Shrimp

This is a decadent, delicious shrimp dish from Bon Appetit.  I originally prepared it in 1998 and made no changes except to substitute italian parsley for the cilantro.

I can see why I hesitated to make it again:  the quantity of butter added at the end is, well, a lot.  So it’s meant for occasional dining  or maybe  saved for a special occasion.

South Carolina Shrimp (adapted ever so slightly from Bon Appetit, R.S.V.P. section, August 1990, from the restaurant in Charleston, Chouinard’s on Vendue)

6 plum tomatoes

3 tablespoon olive oil

20 uncooked large frozen shrimp, shells and tails removed (I use 21/25 count)

1 tablespoon minced shallot (from 1/2 of large)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (from 2-3 cloves)

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup chopped fresh italian parsley

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 large)

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 tablespoon butter, cut into small cubes

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Then fill a large bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes, and set aside.  Prepare tomatoes by scoring the end (not stem end) with a shallow little X mark.

While waiting for the water to come to a boil,  defrost the shrimp, according to the directions on the bag.  When finished, set aside shrimp in strainer over a bowl in the refrigerator.

When water has come to a boil, set aside a slotted spoon.  Drop tomatoes gently into boiling water and in a about 30 seconds you will start to see the skin peeling off.  When this happens, remove the tomato with the slotted spoon to the cold water.  The skin might not do this to all of them at once, so just keep watching.

After a few minutes in the cold water, remove tomatoes onto a cutting board and remove skins with your fingers.  They should come off fairly easily.

Cut tomatoes into quarters and remove all seeds, jelly stuff, and hard core inside tomato wedge.  Do this to all the tomatoes and set aside.  When you have completed all the tomatoes, cut each quarter into 4 strips and then dice the strips, setting aside in a bowl.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat.  Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes until just pink, turning over once, half way through.  Do not overcook the shrimp.  They will be perfect in 2 minutes.  Remove shrimp onto platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add shallot and garlic to skillet and saute for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, wine, parsley and lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add cream and boil mixture for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat.  Add butter a few pieces at a time, whisking until melted.  Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if desired.  Add shrimp and stir gently until thoroughly combined.

Immediately serve over thin spaghetti or fettucine.

scoring the tomatoes with a little X:

setting up for putting tomatoes in boiling water:

tomatoes in boiling water:

tomatoes in cold water, skins coming off:

skins off:

removing seeds, jelly stuff, and hard core from inside tomato wedge:

dicing tomatoes:

mis en place:

cooking shrimp:

shrimp set aside:

saute shallot and garlic:

adding tomatoes, wine, parsley and lemon juice:

cream added and boiling:

adding butter:

shrimp back in, dish complete:

delicious!