Recipe File: Party Shrimp (and Potato Salad)

Happy summer!

So many cookouts and picnics! So lucky to have a calendar full of fun. Here’s a shrimp dish to make ahead and bring along.

It will be welcome on the table with the usual BBQ suspects and stands alone, too. Looks pretty all plated up with toothpicks ready, or skewered for easier eating on a picnic blanket. 

I’m loving it as part of a composed salad with potato salad (bonus recipe! Scroll down!) and other in season veggies.

Though I love Pickled Shrimp I do not feel it is my place to jump into that pool. Southern traditional recipes abound and need no improvement on my part.  

This shrimp might be similar, marinated in a very vegetal brine, (almost a salsa) lemon added just before serving.  This is a longer ingredient list than usual for Recipe File, but it’s dead easy and quick.

Party Shrimp (serves 4-6)

2 lbs best 24-count large shrimp. (If you peel your own keep the shells for the court bouillon aka cooking liquid.)

For the court bouillon:

4 cups water

1 cup white wine

2 pieces lemon peel

1 whole garlic cloves, peeled

1 stalk of celery or ¼ fennel bulb, coarsely chopped

1 small onion, peeled and halved

Small piece of carrot

3 bay leaves

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon salt

The shrimp shells, if you shelled your own

For the marinade:

½ cup chopped parsley and dill

2 tablespoons minced red onion

2-3 minced scallions

1 small jalapeno, minced

1 small red serrano or 2 red thai chilies, minced

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the last minute before serving: Juice of half a lemon

Peel your shrimp. Or not. Maybe you bought the shrimp already peeled. Good either way.

Get all the court bouillon ingredients together in a pan large enough to hold the liquid and the shrimp. Bring to a simmer and let it bubble away for about 10 minutes.

While it’s simmering, assemble all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl—EXCEPT THE LEMON JUICE—that’s for the last minute before serving.

Add the shrimp to the simmering court bouillon all at once, give a stir, cover the pan and immediately turn of the heat.

After 4 minutes, strain the shrimp, reserving the liquid for another use. It freezes well and is great for a soup, stew or risotto. You’ll have to pluck the shrimp out of the strainer, leaving behind all the other ingredients, which can be discarded.

Put the shrimp into the marinade while still warm. Stir to combine and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours, or up to 2 days.

Stir in the lemon juice right before serving. You can garnish with more herbs but it looks very pretty all on its own. Enjoy as an appetizer, an entrée or as part of a composed salad.

Throwing in my potato salad recipe here. Nothing special about it, it’s just the way I like it, and there is a little trick passed along from my Mom that makes it kinda chic.

Potato Salad

2 lbs small new potatoes, halved

¼ white wine

1/3 cup mayo

1/3 cup sour cream

¼ cup grainy mustard

½ small white onion, minced

Large handful of minced soft herbs such as parsley, chives, dill, tarragon

Place the potatoes in a pot of cold, generously salted water and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook until tender. 

Drain very well and put them into a large mixing bowl. Immediately add the wine while the potatoes are hot and give a good stir. If you prefer not to use wine a good mild white wine or champagne vinegar is a good substitute.

Allow the potatoes to rest and cool on the counter until they reach room temperature. If you feel like it, you can stir them occasionally, but don’t go crazy.

Once the potatoes have cooled to room temperature, add in all the other ingredients with a sure hand so everything is well mixed and the potatoes break up ever so slightly.

Refrigerate until cold. 

As you know, potato salad keeps well for days and goes with lots of things.