Don't Call Me Shrimp

I am a King Prawn, okay?

I will not eat them Mr. Pimp
I will not eat those pinky shrimp.

I will not eat them set ablaze.
I will not eat them in souffles.

I will not eat them with a dip.
I will not eat them on a chip.

I will not eat them in a sauce.
I will not eat them with your boss.

I will not eat them as a puff.
I will not eat that icky stuff.

I will not eat those wretched shrimp,
I will not eat them Chimpy Chimp.

Oh, fine. I’ll try some. You never know
which place your mind will let you go.
I like them! I like them!
I do, I do!
Now I can be just like one of you.

It’s taken me 10 years to like shrimp. I still can’t eat them like everyone else, drowning them in deathly red cocktail sauce and slurping them up. And I can’t abide those tiny tiny pink curls hiding in a salad or a box of fried rice. But I have learned to love them blackened or classically broiled in scampi fashion. I enjoy them in paella and find them pleasing in ceviche.

I am growing, I am evolving.

I bring this up for two reasons. Firstly, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. has just announced the winner of their “Shrimp Happens” recipe contest. Kathy Saatzer of Maple Grove has created a Margarita Shrimp Salad that will appear on their menu starting July 1st. Each time the salad is ordered in July, Bubba Gump will donate $1 to Second Harvest Heartland. A worthy reason to brave the Mall of America.

Secondly, I helped judge the Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt recipe contest a few months ago, and am pleased to see that the Salt Roasted Shrimp dish from Shoshana Baars-Stanton won the appetizer category. It was truly lovely, not icky in the least.

Salt Roasted Shrimp
1 T olive oil
1 T chopped cilantro
1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced
6 medium/large shrimp, deveined, shells on
1.5 to 2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Chardonnay wine
1/8 tsp. crushed saffron threads
4 whole black peppercorns
1/4 tsp. honey
3 T unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 tsp. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

1. Heat oven to 400. In medium bowl, blend olive oil, cilantro, and garlic. Add shrimp, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate.

2. Spread salt in even layer on baking sheet at least 1/2 inch thick. Place sheet in oven for 30 minutes to heat salt.

3. Remove sheet from oven and place shrimp on the hot salt in a single layer. Return to oven, baking for 2 minutes. Turn shrimp over and bake for additional 2 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush all salt from shrimp (a pastry brush works well) and remove shells. Set shrimp aside.

4. Combine chardonnay, saffron and peppercorns in medium sauce pan. Over medium heat, allow mixture to boil and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Discard peppercorns and stir in honey. Remove from heat, whisk in butter one cube at a time until blended. Arrange shrimp on plate and drizzle sauce over shrimp. Serves 2.