Food/Recipes

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― It's never a bad time of year for seafood and if you like shrimp, be sure to try out Rania Harris' recipes for Pan Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce.

Pan Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce
Cilantro Paste

Pan Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

Sauce:

1 Ancho Chile – stemmed and seeded
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup whole blanched almonds
½ medium onion – thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic – smashed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
¾ cup roughly chopped Pepadew peppers
1 slice stale white bread – roughly torn
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Shrimp:

1 ½ pounds large shrimp – peeled and deveined
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce:

Toast the Ancho Chile in a small dry skillet over medium high heat, turning and flattening with a spatula, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Put the chile in a medium bowl and over with boiling water for about 10 minutes, to soften. Drain, chop roughly and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the almonds. Cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a plate, leaving the oil in the skillet. Add the softened chile, the onion, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the paprika and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Scrape the onion mixture into a sieve set over a bowl and reserve 3 tablespoons of the strained olive oil.

Pulse the onion mixture, almonds, peppers, bread and vinegar into a food processor until coarse. With the motor running, drizzle in the reserved olive oil. Scrape the sauce into 4 small serving bowls, cover, and set in a warm place while you cook the shrimp.

For the shrimp:

Season the shrimp with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add half of the shrimp to the skillet and sauté over high heat. Do not crowd the skillet with the shrimp – you may need to do this in three batches, to avoid the shrimp from becoming soggy during the cooking process. Cook the shrimp, undisturbed until they turn a golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a platter and repeat the process with the remaining shrimp.

To serve:

Place a bowl of the sauce on each of 4 serving plates and surround with the shrimp. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Cilantro Paste

½ cup blanched whole almonds
3 cups fresh cilantro leaves (about 2 large bunches), rinsed well
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Red pepper flakes to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more if needed
2/3 cup grated Pecorino-Romano
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Good quality Ricotta Cheese drained through cheesecloth to remove excess liquid.

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Scatter the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden, 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Combine the almonds, cilantro, garlic and red pepper flakes to taste into a food processor until the nuts are coarsely ground. With the food processor still running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly and pulse until smooth. Add the cheese, but don't over process, or the sauce will get clumpy. Use a bit more olive oil if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use the sauce immediately, or spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze until hard. Pop out the cubes and toss them into a freezer bag. They'll keep for up to 3 months.

Cook's note: Flavor ricotta cheese with enough of the cilantro paste to taste and use as a spread on crisp crostini. Serve with grilled red peppers, Spanish olives and caper berries.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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