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Cook the Book: Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

Posted by Ed Levine, July 11, 2007 at 1:30 PM

Dave Pasternack, with whom I wrote The Young Man and the Sea, has a real knack for combining two or three ingredients into something unique and delicious. Take this grilled shrimp dish for example. I love the combination of grilled radicchio—which is simultaneously smoky and bitter—with meaty shrimp and porky pancetta (cured Italian bacon). But what really makes this dish is the aged balsamic vinegar, which lends the whole affair a sweet, tangy finishing touch.

Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

- makes 4 servings -

Ingredients
1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shells on, split down the back, vein removed

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1/2 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch lardons

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 medium head radicchio, cut into 4 wedges

2 tablespoons aceto balsamico (aged balsamic vinegar)

Procedure
1. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, straight-sided sauté pan until hot but not smoking. Add the shrimp, in two batches if necessary, and cook for about 3 minutes per side. (Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches if necessary.) The shells should be pink and the flesh opaque. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate and set aside.

2. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and add the diced pancetta. Cook over a medium flame until the fat begins to render, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and continue to cook until the lardons are browned and the garlic has softened, about 3 more minutes. Add the radicchio and the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until the radicchio is tender and the vinegar has reduced slightly, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. To serve, spoon the wilted radicchio equally onto four serving plates. Top with the sautéed shrimp and drizzle with high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

1 Comment | Tags: books, Cook the Book, CTB: The Young Man and the Sea, Dave Pasternack, Ed Levine, pancetta, radicchio, recipes, seafood, Serious Recipes, shrimp