Gourmet Fusion Spicy Shrimp Cazuelas

At the Gourmet Fusion store we sell three different types of Spanish Paprika, and many customers often ask us what type of dishes you can use paprika for, so here is the recipe for Spicy Shrimp Cazuelas.

You can buy the Spanish Paprika, Olive Oil and terra cotta (lead free ceramic) Cazuelas in our store, but we don't sell the shrimp!

Ingredients

12 raw unpeeled jumbo or extra large shrimp

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (Dintel Spanish)

Lemon pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Hot Paprika (Chiquilin Pimenton Picante)

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 tablespoon dry sherry

Parsley for garnish

Recipe

1. Preheat the broiler to 450 degrees F.
2. Brush the Cazeulas with a little olive oil, and place the shrimp in the dish or dishes.
3. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the shrimp.
4. Pepper the shrimp to cover, using black and lemon pepper.
5. Add Paprika, salt, garlic, dry sherry and lemon juice to Cazeulas.
6. Broil for about 10 minutes, until shrimp turns pink, and flesh is firm.
7. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately in the sizzling Cazuelas, accompanied by crusty French bread, and your favorite cold beer or white wine.

In this recipe we have used the Chiquilin Pimenton Picante, to give our shrimp the hot, and spicy flavor, but this recipe works equally well with either the Pimenton Dulce (mild), or the Pimenton Ahumado (smoked).

All have a slightly different flavor and aroma, but all taste delicious. They can be found in the Gourmet Fusion store, 2nd Floor, Leaping Lotus, Cedros Design District, Solana Beach, or online.

Shrimp Provencale

If you are looking for a light, simple, yet elegant meal after the holidays, this Provencale recipe can be used with shrimp, mussels, clams or even, as in the original that this was adapted from - snails. It does have a lot of ingredients, so you would need to plan ahead, and the creme fraiche on top is optional.

The thing that made this recipe extra special was the use of a teaspoon of herbs from Provence with added lavender. These dried herbs are readily available in most supermarkets - I used Morton & Bassett's of San Francisco's blend. The blend of all the herbs and finely chopped vegetables makes for a very subtle, and interesting flavor, but it is not so strong that it overpowers the flavor of the seafood.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3/4 lb medium sized shrimp with shell, deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/1/oz shallots, diced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 oz red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 oz boiled ham, finely diced
• 6 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons sweet (cream) sherry
• 8 fl ounce of fish or chicken stock
  
• 1-2 teaspoons herbs of Provence
• 1 small mild red chili, finely chopped
  
• salt
• pepper
• paprika
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 4 tablespoons creme fraiche
• handful snipped chives for garnish
• Boiled or steamed rice.
  

Method

1. Rinse and pat dry the shrimp, devein if necessary.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the shallots and garlic.
3. Add and fry the red pepper, mushrooms, ham and chili.
4. Add the shrimp and saute for 2 minutes.
   
5. Add the white wine, sherry and stock.
6. Add the drained tomatoes.
7. Season with herbs, salt, pepper and paprika.
8. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
9. Serve over boiled or steamed rice, with a spoonful of creme fraiche for each person.
10. Garnish with snipped chives.
    

Shrimp and Eggplant Salad

I am not sure if anyone will be barbecuing this holiday weekend. Here is San Diego we have had heavy rain this morning, but I think the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend indicates better weather through Monday.

If you want to do something a little different to the usual hamburgers and hot dogs, this is a salad that combines many different flavors that go extremely well with the grilled shrimp. It does require a fair amount of chopping beforehand, but once you've got the ingredients together, the cooking is relatively simple.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 red chili, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 24 medium shrimp, peeled, cleaned, tails intact
• 20 bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes
• 1/2 small, pineapple, peeled, finely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Method

1. Cut the eggplants diagonally into thin slices, toss in a bowl with the turmeric and 1 teaspoon sea salt, and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the grill to medium heat. Drain the eggplants, transfer to a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of oil. Grill for 10 minutes, turning halfway, or until golden, then transfer to a bowl.
3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a saucepan over medium heat (this can be done indoors, or outdoors on your grill), add onion, garlic, spices, ginger and chili. Cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes.
   
4. Add vinegar, sugar and tomatoes, and stir until tomatoes are just softened. Cool, then combine with eggplants.
5. Thread the shrimp onto the soaked skewers and drizzle with remaining oil. Season with sea salt and pepper, then grill for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through.
6. To serve, spoon eggplant salad into the middle of plates and place skewers to the side.
   
7. Combine pineapple, cilantro and lime juice, and scatter over the plate.

Pan Seared King Shrimp, Ginger and Scallions

This simple recipe is quick and easy and can be served as lunch, or with several other dishes, such as fried rice, or sweet and sour pork, as part of a more elaborate Chinese meal. It brings together the flavor of ginger and scallions with shellfish, a classic combination in Cantonese cuisine.

Ginger not only adds a subtle aromatic flavor to your cooking, it is also good for you, and found in many Asian recipes. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is thought that eating ginger improves blood circulation, and can even help those suffering from travel sickness and morning sickness.

When you are shopping for ginger in your local supermarket, look for ginger that feels firm and heavy for its size and has a smooth, shiny, pale skin. To prepare the ginger, use a vegetable peeler or the edge of a spoon to remove the thin skin before cutting as directed in your recipe. Many recipes call for simply slicing or finely chopping ginger. Or, if grating ginger, you can use a variety of tools, including a rasp-style grater which is a specialized ceramic grater with tiny, sharp rasps, or just use the finest holes on a box grater-shredder. This recipe is light and healthy and at only 101 kcal per serving, ideal for those watching their weight, and If you are looking for a great Chinese supermarket, 99 Ranch is the place to go.

Pan Seared King Shrimp with Ginger and Scallions
(serves 4 with 2 other dishes as a main course)

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3-4 slices fresh ginger root, peeled and shredded
• 3/4 pounds large, raw shrimp (with shells), deveined
• 2 tablespoons shoyu or tamari sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons vegetable stock
• 2 scallions, shredded into 3/4-inch lengths, to serve
• Cornstarch paste (1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon water)
  

Method

1. Heat the oil in a nonstick saute pan or wok, and stir-fry the garlic and ginger for a few seconds.
2. Add the shrimp, and stir-fry for about 1 minute until almost cooked.
3. Season with shoyu sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and pepper, and add the stock. Stir in the cornstarch paste to thicken the sauce.
4. Sprinkle with the scallions and serve immediately.

Nutrient Analysis per serving: 423 kJ - 101 kcal; 19.0 g protein; 0.9g carbohydrate; 0.3g sugars; 2.7g fat; 0.4g saturates; 0.2g fiber; 274mg sodium.

This, and many other quick and easy Chinese recipes can be found in the great book, Fresh Chinese by Wynnie Chan.

How to Devein Shrimps or Prawns

What is the difference between a shrimp and a prawn? The terms shrimps and prawns used in the fish trade have no scientific basis. They are usually no more than an indication of the size of some of the 2,000 - 3,000 known species. Shrimp is usually the term applied to small prawns with over 100 to a pound in weight. Most of these are deep-sea creatures. The Gray or Brown Shrimp and the East Asian King Prawn live in shallow coastal waters. In addition to subdivisions based on size and depth of water, there is also a distinction between warm and cold-water prawns. Cold water prawns are better quality and, therefore, more expensive.

On top of this confusion, the use of the terms shrimp and prawn is not consistent throughout the world. They are usually sorted and named by their size but the system is different in Britain, Europe and the United States. The only point common to all of them is that extremely large prawns are sold as giant, king or tiger prawns.

Whether you are buying shrimps or prawns, you still have to figure out how to prepare them. You can buy them in most supermarkets either cooked, uncooked, with shell on or simply tail on, but there is no doubt that shrimp with the shell still in tact add more flavor to a recipe.

Some supermarkets will devein the raw shrimp for you, but if not, you can make your work easy with a simple shrimp deveiner like the one shown here. This is a relatively inexpensive tool and comes in handy for many seafood preparation jobs.

To use the deveiner on raw shrimp, first run a sharp knife down its back, exposing the vein, then push the shrimp deveiner along the back, removing the vein, then rinse under cold water. This leaves the shell still in tact with the vein removed ready to add to your lobster boil, or paella recipe.

If using on cooked shrimp, first cook the shrimp. Then, if their heads are still attached, remove them. Hold the shrimp under running water and peel off the shell working toward the tail. Push the shrimp deveiner along the back, and they are ready to use in your favorite shrimp cocktail. Shrimp deveiners like the one shown here can be found in the Gourmet Fusion store, along with many other useful seafood tools.