I’ll be honest, handling raw shrimp to get them ready to boil or broil or grill is not a favorite ‘in-the-kitchen pastime. Nor am I attracted to the primal pleasures of peel-and-eat shrimp. You can understand my delight when I found a recipe for roasted shrimp. Besides being easy and making for a great presentation, there is so much that you can do with it – add it to a salad, put it in a taco with some mango salsa, toss it with some tomato, avocado, and a tangy dressing. It comes pretty close to offering endless possibilities. My method for preparing shrimp merits a nod to Ina Garten, and her recipe for roasted shrimp cocktail. To serve 4 people I usually buy a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp (tails on or off – your preference, but depending on availability; I opt for off).
INGREDIENTS
Peeled and deveined shrimp
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Put the shrimp in a large bowl and drizzle them with olive oil, enough that they are all coated once you toss them.
Add freshly ground salt and pepper and toss until the shrimp appear uniformly coated with the oil, salt and pepper.
Place the shrimp on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a small amount of space between, and put them in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
That’s it – shrimp done!
TIPS and SUGGESTIONS
As noted above, a pound of shrimp will usually be enough for 4 servings.
When preparing the baking sheet, whether you use parchment or aluminum foil, expect some seepage of olive oil.
If you have an oven-safe cooling or grilling rack, placing that in the baking sheet, and the shrimp on top, will tend to make the roasted shrimp a little drier. You’ll want to let the shrimp air-dry a little, especially if you’re going to vac-seal some for your freezer for later use.
I highly recommend wearing vinyl/nitrile/latex gloves for the tossing of the shrimp. You can place the shrimp on the pan while still gloved, or remove them and use some tongs.
As a classic shrimp cocktail, serve on a platter with a favorite cocktail sauce, or, as I like to do, with some Kum Bak sauce..
As pictured above, the shrimp are served with sliced tomato and avocado. Another favorite is to serve them salad style of a bed of Feta Slaw. So many possibilities.
never 2 old 2 start cooking 