Creamy Tuscan Shrimp
Doesn't that photo make this look yummy? It is!!! As a matter of fact, it tasted even better than it looked. I was absolutely amazed that something this easy to make could taste this delicious. It was also my first time ever cooking shrimp. I love shrimp but I've been afraid of it ever since watching episode of "America's Worst Cooks" and learning about the vein along the back of the shrimp that is actually the poop chute. Greatest discover I've ever had was learning that I can buy deveined shrimp and not have to deal with it!! Somehow I trust someone else properly removing it more than I trust myself.
A couple of ingredients were needed with the hardest one to find being sun-dried tomato strips (not that hard, really, but you need to know where to look in the store or, heaven forbid, ask for help). Ingredients for this were:
- 2 Tbs butter
- 6 cloves finely diced garlic
- 1 lb of shrimp with tails on or off (I used thawed frozen shrimp and pinched the tails off when I removed the shells)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 5 ounces of jarred sun-dried tomato strips in oil (drained)
- 1 3/4 cups cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbs of water
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
The longest part of the preparation of this dish was peeling the shrimp. Once that was done, everything went really fast. The butter was melted in a large skillet over medium-high heat and then the garlic was added and fried for one minute. After that the shrimp was added and fried for about two minutes on each side. I enjoyed cooking the shrimp and watching the color change. I think all food should have a color changing indication like the shrimp do! They really make it easy to tell when they're done. The most challenging part of this was to not snitch too many of them as I "tested" them to make sure they were done. They were and they were already delicious!
I move the shrimp into a bowl and set it aside as I prepared the sauce. The diced onion went into the pan and I used a little white grape juice (instead of wine) to help remove any of the bits from the pan. As the onion became translucent I added the sun-dried tomatoes and fried them for 1-2 minutes. Lesson learned -- as we ate the meal the large pieces of sun-dried tomato were a bit large to eat. Next time I'll chop them up a bit before I cook them.
Then the cream went in and was brought to a low simmer as I stirred it. This was a good time to taste the sauce and add a bit of salt and pepper as needed. The spinach was stirred in and wilted and then all of the Parmesan cheese went in was stirred together with everything else. The sauce simmered until the cheese was melted throughout the sauce and then I added the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce a bit. When the sauce was the thickness I liked I then added the shrimp back into the pan together with the Italian herbs and parsley. After it was evenly mixed together it was done!
It can be served over pasta or rice -- I decided to serve it with white rice and some fresh brussel sprouts. Other than the time to peel the shrimp, the preparation time for this delicious meal was only about 20 minutes. Definitely worth every minute!! If you try it I bet you won't have much leftover.
Bon Appetit!
P.S. In case you're curious about those beautiful brussel sprouts I made as a side dish, here's how they were made. After I trimmed the sprouts they were blanched for about 8 minutes, that's all the cooking I did. For the sauce I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter and added one of Baldys' Blends spices to the butter as it melted. This time around I used "Mikayla's Mediterranean Citrus Blend." Baldys' spices are a quick go to for some deliciously unique flavors. Baldy has a large variety of unique spice blends and will even create custom blends on request. If you'd like to try them you can find them at www.baldysblends.com.
P.P.S. Trying to figure out what beverage is recommended for a meal like this? From the photo's above you may have noticed our choice -- fresh chocolate milk from Lancaster County's Oregon Dairy!
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