This is one of my go-to recipes all year long. In its most basic form, when there is nothing in my pantry, I make a lemon-wine-garlic sauce with a lot of butter and serve with pasta. If I have no fresh garlic, I’ll even use garlic powder. This is a fancier version of that, with marinated shrimp. If you don’t have any heavy cream, you can whisk in another 2 tablespoons of butter in place of the cream at the end. There are no rules here. This can be spicier, more or less tart, and creamier by varying the amount of red pepper flakes, lemon zest and juice, and cream used. Make it to your taste.
Shrimp in Lemon-Garlic Cream Sauce
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, finely crushed in a mortar and pestle or you can use ground fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicier
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- finely grated zest from two lemons
- juice from two lemons
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons parsley, rough chopped
- salt and pepper
- In a small bowl, marinate the shrimp with the olive oil, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, oregano, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. Once the skillet is hot and the butter has melted, add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp just until they barely turn pink on both sides. You don’t want them to be fully cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the skillet into a clean bowl and set aside.
- Add the garlic and lemon zest to the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Add the lemon juice, and wine and bring to high heat until the liquid starts to simmer and reduce by one third. Reduce the heat, add the cream and whisk well. Add the shrimp back into the skillet and cook until they are cooked through. Add the parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice, or pasta. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Note: I served this with roasted broccoli, red peppers, and grilled corn. For the vegetables, cut up one head of broccoli into florets, and slice one large red bell pepper. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 425F for 15 minutes. For the corn, remove the husks and silk from 3 ears of corn. Place corn directly over a gas burner, over high heat. Usually two ears of corn can be cooked on one burner at the same time. Carefully, turn the cobs with metal tongs until the corn is charred all around. The corn will make pop and sizzle sounds as it cooks. Cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife and sprinkle with salt.
One Vanilla Bean 