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Dinner Tonight: Shrimp in Crazy Water

Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, January 9, 2008 at 4:00 PM

I’m apparently still obsessed with death, because I can’t put My Last Supper down. I mean, of all recommendations, wouldn’t a “last-recipe-ever” tag by a respected chef seem like a good place to start? Especially when the chef is Mario Batali and his recipe is called Shrimp in Crazy Water? It looked like a beautiful rustic dish, rather like his chicken with green sauce recipe I still salivate over.

The “crazy” in the water is due to some fresh chiles, which in my case were serranos, though jalapeños or habeneros—for you really crazy folk—would also work. The chiles certainly do make a scene in the tomato and fennel sauce, though not in a way that would impede excessive slurping. I sure couldn’t find any live or whole shrimp in Ohio, so I had to settle for some wild Gulf shrimp without their heads. Not exactly the perfect re-creation for his last meal, but perfectly delicious for a weeknight meal.

Shrimp in Crazy Water (Gamberoni All’Acqua Pazza)

- makes 4 servings -

Ingredients

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 Serrano peppers, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed
2 cups white wine
1/2 cup water
1 pound shrimp, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper

Procedure

1. Pour the oil into a large pot and turn the heat to medium. Dump in the onion, garlic, serranos, and fennel. Cook for 8 minutes or so, until softened.

2. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, wine, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add the shrimp. Cook for another 5 minutes, until done.

4. Crack some pepper and serve up.

4 Comments | Tags: Dinner Tonight, Italian, Mario Batali, seafood, shrimp

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