Garlic Shrimp

This is a recipe of mine from so long ago I no longer make it the way I used to. Originally, I used giant shrimp or prawns, and it had hot peppers. Over time, due to dietary and budget constraints, it morphed into what you see here. It's actually even better, if I do say so myself.

What I love is it works with pre-cooked, frozen shrimp (although you can make it with fresh and it'll be even better). Where I live, finding fresh shrimp is a virtual impossibility, and while I understand that shrimp in general are much more costly than they used to be, fresh (or even frozen raw) are through the roof.

The crock pot is irrelevant to this recipe, it was just on my counter with another part of dinner in it when I started making the shrimp... I'm sure you've noticed there are pretty much always things in the picture that have nothing whatsoever to do with the recipe I'm writing up, because my kitchen is definitely a lived-in kind of place.

Anyway, simple ingredients. A pound of shrimp, some olive oil, some garlic, a pepper (degree of hot is up to you... this time I chose a Hungarian sweet pepper), some parsley, some salt and pepper, and a lemon. Honestly, I forgot to slice the lemon and serve it with the shrimp and nobody even knew, so it's not like the world will end without one.

Heat what seems like an ungodly amount of olive oil in a large skillet, then add the garlic and whatever pepper you've decided to use and saute until they're soft. I used to make this with jalapenos, and then I've occasionally made it with those really hot red peppers whose name escapes me, and I've even done it with bell pepper because that's what I had. As I said, this time I used a Hungarian sweet pepper (which has a nice bite to it when raw, but mellows out when cooked). I usually choose to seed my peppers, but that's up to you as well depending on how much heat you want.

I pull the tails off shrimp when I make them for just us at home. One of the things I truly hate is having to pick up shrimp with my fingers off a plate to eat them (unless they're peel & eat, of course), because I dislike getting oil or butter on my hands and it just seems rude. So I pull the tails off... which has the added bonus of leaving me shrimp tails that I can use for stock.

Anyway, add the shrimp to the pan and stir-fry it for a couple of minutes to make sure it gets completely coated in the oil and bits of garlic and pepper are sticking to it.

Once the shrimp are heated through, turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley. You don't want to cook it, just make sure it gets mixed in well and completely coated in oil.

There's supposed to be a lemon wedge or two sitting next to the shrimp, for in case you want to squeeze it over the shrimp when you eat it. Like I said, I completely forgot. You'll have that. Another way I now differ from the way I used to make it is I would serve this with a bunch of warm, crusty bread and sop up all the oil. That's really the best way to eat this, but I had to sacrifice it to cut down on carbs. This new incarnation uses less oil so there's less to sop up, and leaves out the bread entirely.

Garlic Shrimp

Serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup Hungarian sweet pepper, minced

1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed if you wish)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced

1 lemon, cut in wedges, to serve

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat; add garlic and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes or until softened but not browned.

Add shrimp and stir-fry 2-3 minutes until shrimp is heated through and well-coated in oil and seasonings. (If using raw shrimp, stir-fry 5-6 minutes, until cooked and pink).

Turn off heat; stir in salt and pepper and parsley, stirring well to combine.

Divide shrimp between plates and serve with lemon wedges on the side. If desired, spoon any oil remaining in the pan over the shrimp and serve with plenty of warm crusty bread to sop it up.

Serving Size: 136g

Calories: 249

Calories from Fat: 131

Total Fat: 14.6g

Saturated Fat: 2.4g

Cholesterol: 239mg

Sodium: 352mg

Total Carbohydrates: 3.1g

Protein: 26.1g