Snow Day Tuscan Shrimp

The first snow of the year, ~ 4″, is not as drastic as last year, where we received 18″ overnight, but enough to require the gas-powered monster. It made quick work of the driveway and walk, but it was cold. Time for hot, filling, comfort food.

I was considering chicken thighs for this, but they might as well have been outside all night, frozen hard as a rock. But I also have a package of IQF, raw, shelled, deveined shrimp. Those will thaw out quickly, so it’s a seafood main today. I’d also not planned quite this elaborate of a meal, but the kitchen will be warm, so not too large of an ordeal.

As per Wikipedia:

Simplicity is central to the Tuscan cuisine. Legumes, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms, and fresh fruit are used. A good example of typical Tuscan food is ribollita, a notable soup whose name literally means “reboiled”. Like most Tuscan cuisine, the soup has peasant origins. Ribollita was originally made by reheating (i.e. reboiling) the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day. There are many variations but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, cabbage, beans, silverbeet, cavolo nero (Tuscan kale), onion, and olive oil.

Simple seems a bit at odds with this recipe, but overall the production of this is straightforward, cook your protein (shrimp, chicken, etc.) and build a creamy cheese pan sauce. Serve over pasta, potatoes, or rice.

I’ll side this with a nice salad, fresh bread with butter, and maybe a glass of good wine.

Tuscan Shrimp

Plump, sweet shrimp swimming in a garlicky cream sauce, glorious comfort food for a snowy day

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Calories 909 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 slices Bacon Thick cut, sliced to lardons
• 1 lb Shrimp 16-20 count, raw, shelled, deveined
• 1/2 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Coarse Grind / Cracked,
• 1/3 tsp Sweet Paprika
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1 ea Shallot chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp Chili Flake
• 1 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
• 1 tbsp Corn Starch
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• 1 tsp Parsley Dried
• 1 tsp Basil Dried
• 1/2 tsp Oregano Dried
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Finely Grated

Instructions

 

• In a large non-reactive saucepan, render off the bacon over medium-low heat (7-10 minutes). Remove the bacon and reserve, Reserve 2 tbsp fat in the pan
•  Whisk together one tablespoon of oil from sun-dried tomato, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and paprika salt in a large bowl.
• Add the shrimp and turn to coat.
• Increase the heat on the saucepan to medium-high; working in batches, add shrimp in a single layer and cook just until opaque, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
• Reduce heat to medium and add one additional tbsp of oil from the dried tomatoes.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes shallots, garlic, and pepper flakes, and sauté until shallots are tender about 4-5 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream; mix chicken broth with cornstarch and add to the skillet. Stir in parsley, basil, and oregano.
• Bring sauce to a simmer while scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan; simmer until sauce thickens to desired consistency, stirring often.
• Once thickened, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in Parmesan cheese. Cook, while stirring, until melted, 1-2 minutes.
• Add shrimp to the skillet and warm through to soak up the sauce.
• Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve over pasta, mashed potatoes or rice.

Notes

Add-Ins:

Add vegetables:

If adding veggies, reduce the shrimp, so the dish remains plenty saucy. (Or build more sauce.)

Add chopped vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, bell peppers, etc., and sauté them after you’ve cooked the shallots for a few minutes. 

Add mushrooms:

Consider pan-frying sliced baby Bella mushrooms, removing them from the skillet, then adding them back to the sauce at the end of cooking.

Different Cheeses:

In addition to or in place of Parmesan, you can use Gouda, Fontina, Gruyere, etc.

Spice it up:

Add additional chili flakes, or fry off some green chilies with the bacon.

Add Acid:

A tablespoon or so of lemon juice will add zest and extract additional flavor from the spices.

Use Fresh:

Substitute 1 tbsp of fresh herbs for each tsp of dried.

Nutrition

Calories: 909kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 26gFat: 77gSaturated Fat: 44gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 1616mgPotassium: 1399mgFiber: 4gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 2808IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 440mgIron: 4mg

Keyword Alfredo, Bacon, Shrimp

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