It finally happened: our nest is empty. The last of our three children is off to college, and we have been left to fend for ourselves. We’ve done some traveling, met the girls for dinner in the city, gone out with friends, eaten omelettes and ordered take-out, but finally it was time we sat down at the kitchen table and had a nice home-cooked meal.
This one is a variation of a dish I learned to make when our oldest was born–nearly twenty-five years ago! The prototype had barely any vegetables, sweet instead of hot peppers, no coconut milk, and none of my subsequent years of cooking experience. It was pretty good then, but we thought last night’s version was wonderful.
Spicy Shrimp with Clams
- Serves two, generously
- Ingredients
- 1 lb medium shrimp, cleaned
- 1 dz littleneck clams, scrubbed
- olive oil
- zest of one lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced into ½ inch matchsticks
(adjust the number of peppers to your preference; leave seeds for more heat)
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- sea salt
- butter (optional)
- ½ cup diced sweet or yellow onion
- 1 bunch of scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
- about 10 shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 plum tomatoes, seeded, large dice
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- two thin slices of lemon for garnish
Marinate the shrimp
- Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a metal or ceramic bowl.
- Drizzle with olive oil and half the lemon juice. Add zest, garlic, a bunch of jalapeños, red pepper and sea salt. Stir to distribute evenly.
- Marinate for 30 minutes (much longer and the lemon may overpower the flavor of the shrimp).
Prepare the dish
- Heat oil on high, add onions and sprinkle with salt. When they begin to “sweat,” but before they color, lower heat to medium, and add a tablespoon or so of butter. As the onions begin to lightly color, add scallions, jalapeños, and garlic. Continue to cook slowly until nicely browned—not too dark. Store this mixture in a separate bowl.
- Add a bit of olive oil and butter to the pan if necessary; turn the heat to high and brown the shitake slices. Sprinkle with salt and some lemon juice, and place them in a separate bowl.
- Add olive oil and butter if necessary and cook the shrimp quickly—just a couple of minutes.
- Return the onion mixture to the pan, and add the tomatoes, the clams, remaining lemon juice, and about a cup of water (you can use white wine too). Cover and steam until clams open. Be sure the liquid doesn’t burn or dry up (add more if it does), and remove clams as they cook.
- Stir in the coconut milk. Add the mushrooms and half the parsley. If the sauce is too thin, remove the shrimp and most of the veggies, and cook down.
Serve
Place everything in a serving bowl and garnish with the rest of the parsley and the lemon slices. For a side, try fresh green beans, barely steamed. Drizzle them with a good olive oil, like Olave, and sprinkle with sea salt. Brown rice or crusty bread make the meal more filling.
