sauced: Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Shrimp

By Liz

Today was a grumpy Monday. It wasn’t a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day, simply one of those days where nothing very bad happens, but nothing good does either. It kicked off with my accidentally silencing my alarm, and when I awoke a panicked hour later, the day slid slowly but surely into a tickytack funk.

It was one of those days that would normally be salvaged by coming home to a warm kitchen with Shravan enveloped in a cloud of coriander, stirring up some fragrant spicy sauce and pouring me wine. But Shravan’s in Africa, and as much as I love Skype, it doesn’t cook me dinner.

So there was only one course of action: I sought refuge in the mother of all fallback meals, a spicy lemon-rosemary shrimp that practically cooks itself and then does the dishes.

The first thing I did when I got home was pop a bottle of pinot and the last of Judy’s bourbon balls. (A friendly mason jar is shuttling back and forth between our two apartments, each time bearing decadent sweets .)

Feeling a bit better, I set rice on to boil and shrimp out to thaw. The beauty of this dish is it requires exactly one bag of frozen shrimp and one lemon; the rest of the ingredients reside in any well-stocked cupboard.

It’s adapted from a recipe that Mandy Warmbier, sister of Sauced co-blogger Karena, submitted to The Barefoot Cookbook, a collection of recipe favorites that we compiled for Karena’s wedding. I believe Mandy adapted it from a restaurant originally, and while I love her version, it requires far more patience and butter than I usually have at the ready.

Mine is a quick stovetop deal, intended for nights you’re hungry and harried and just want a warm bowl of fragrant food. After inhaling the spoonfuls of spicy shrimp, I felt almost human again.

Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Shrimp

1 1/2 c. rice, steamed
1 lb. of shrimp, defrosted and shelled
1 T. of butter
2 T. of olive oil
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp. crushed rosemary
dried red chilies
1 T. Worcestire sauce
1 lemon, juiced
Tabasco to taste
freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

Steam rice. Grate garlic. Heat butter and olive oil in a nonstick pan over low heat (technically, you could do with less oil, but heck, I’ve had a crummy day). Add in garlic, rosemary and chili flakes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn – if it starts to brown, turn the heat down immediately. Cook until garlic and chilies are fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add shrimp and turn heat to high. Cook until shrimp is just pink (1-2 minutes), and add Worcestire, lemon, Tabasco and salt/pepper to taste. Continue stirring until shrimp is cooked through. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lemon.