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Dinner Tonight: Salad of Shrimp and Roasted Peppers

Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, February 18, 2008 at 4:15 PM

I’ve been stuck on Saveur for a few weeks now, mostly because I’ve been able to find little gems like this one. The magazine likes to search for truly authentic dishes and explores their origins in longer written pieces. Salad of shrimp and roasted peppers is actually an adaptation of a traditional Italian dish which substitutes the hard to find eel (well, in the Midwest at least), with the far more approachable shrimp. Everything else is pure simplicity. How can so few ingredients create something so fresh and flavorful?

The recipe suggests steaming fresh shrimp, though I suppose you could use pre-cooked shrimp to save some time. In fact, if you have roasted red peppers on hand this little recipe can be whipped up in record time. It just probably won’t taste as good. There was something special going on when the warm peppers and shrimp mix with the mint and parsley. The smell wanders around the kitchen tempting you to dig in before it cools properly.

Salad of Shrimp and Roasted Red Bell Pepper

- serves 2 -

Adapted from Saveur

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper
16 medium shrimp, peeled, and cooked
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. When ready, place the red bell pepper in a baking dish just big enough to hold it. Roast for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so. The skin should slightly blacken. When done, wrap the pepper in a paper bag and let it steam for 5-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, steam the shrimp. Bring a pot of water to a boil. When it’s ready, place the shrimp in a steaming basket above the water. Cook until they turn pink, just a few minutes.

3. Take the pepper from the bag, and remove the skin, stem, and seeds. Cut lengthwise into quarter inch strips.

4. Mix the pepper strips, shrimp, parsley, mint, oil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly until room temperature.

2 Comments | Tags: Dinner Tonight, salads, seafood, shrimp

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