We spent a quiet Easter at home, just the two of and the pets.
So. No ham.
No multitude of side dishes.
But. The nice folk at Delish did provide us a creamy shrimp recipe that looked really good, not too, too much trouble; and I already had most of the ingredients in the house, so no big holidaze weekend battle at the supermarket.
Bonus!
In fact, the fussiest part of the recipe was that the shrimp needed to be peeled, deveined, and tails off, but I just so happened to have a bag of Argentinian Red Shrimp in the freezer, and they were already peeled, deveined, and tails off, so, let’s have some shrimp!
INGREDIENTS
•2 tbsp olive oil – I used garlic infused
•1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
•Kosher salt
•Freshly ground black pepper
•3 tbsp butter
•5 cloves garlic, minced
•1-1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
•3 cups baby spinach
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan
•1/4 c. basil, thinly sliced
•Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat, then add the shrimp and cook for two minutes, then turn over and cook for another two minutes or so, until the shrimp is opaque and nicely pink.
Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter in the pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute.
Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook until they start to burst.
Add the baby spinach and cook, tossing everything, until the spinach is wilted.
Whisk the Sherry Peppers and hot sauces into the cream, then stir into the tomatoes and spinach in the pan along with the crushed red pepper and Parmesan.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for three minutes, until the sauce is reduced a bit.
Return the shrimp to the pan, add the chopped basil, and cook just until heated through.
Serve over pasta with more basil and lemon wedges, if you like.
A fine Easter dinner, and, really, simple enough to toss together on a weeknight.
I am toying with doubling the recipe and serving this to friends for a fancy-looking feast with little to no muss or fuss.