Grilled or Roasted Shrimp with Lentils and Lemon

AceFoodDesk says here’s another food recipe for you to enjoy with Kindness & Love XX A&M

Try roasted, grilled, sautéed, in soups and stews, spiced up, and even as a little cocktail appetizer dressed up in many ways. dishes is a baked shrimp stuffed with artichokes.

A quick dinner

      You will love how quickly this cooks, and since I usually am able to find shrimp with their shells on, I have a flavorful stock to use in cooking the lentils, or I can freeze for another day.

Boost the flavor, lift up the brown

This might look like a lot of ingredients, but it comes together really quickly. If you have shrimp without the shells, you can use any vegetable stock in which to cook the lentils, or even plain water. Of course, you can use rice or pasta in this dish, or any other favorite grain. Using the stock really enhances the flavor, and the lemon gives the lentils a refreshing lift! Brown food really needs a little lift.

Wild shrimp, please

            Always look for wild shrimp that is not farmed, the more local the better, and ask your fish monger about the harvest practices, they should know. It is difficult to trust shrimp that has traveled across the world and raised with practices we can only guess at. I often get Maine shrimp that are quite tiny, delicious, but sometimes I want something a little more substantial.

Frozen shrimp

Fresh shrimp doesn’t travel well, so unless you are right on the seacoast, most of the time, you will be buying frozen shrimp and that is fine, just thaw them overnight in the refrigerator, or immerse frozen in cold water until they are thawed. 

And for my vegan friends, this marinade tastes great on big fat portabella mushrooms as well, or any of their relatives at different ages, see below!

Grilled or roasted shrimp with lentils, luscious lemon, and Fennel

• 1 lb. jumbo Gulf or local shrimp
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp. finely minced fennel fronds
• 1 tsp. anise or fennel seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. herbes de Provence
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 cup French lentils, rinsed
• Stock made from shrimp shells, or water
• 1 small head fennel, diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• Zest and juice of one lemon

Peel and devein the shrimp, tossing the shells in a saucepan along with an obligatory bay leaf. Prep all the veggies and toss the trimmings in as well. Cover the trimmings with water by a couple of inches, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 20 minutes then strain. You will strain this and cook the lentils in this broth.

While the stock is simmering, combine the olive oil, garlic, fennel fronds, fennel seeds, herbes de Provence, and smoked paprika in a small food processor and blitz until well combined. Place in a shallow dish and add the shrimp, adding salt and pepper as you go, and rub the marinade into the shrimp well. Set in the refrigerator until ready to quickly grill at the last.

Sauté the fennel and shallot in a little olive oil and add three cups of the broth when ready, add water if you don’t have enough. Bring to a boil and add the lentils. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 25 minutes, but check at 20. Remove to a bowl, add the lemon juice and zest, and a little knob of butter.

Heat your grill pan on the stove, or you can grill this outside too, but it’s a bit of a bother for about four minutes of grilling, so it’s just as easy to do it inside! 

Brush the grill pan lightly with a neutral oil and add the shrimp, cooking three minutes on the first side and turning. Cover and remove from the heat and let finish cooking like this for about five minutes.

Alternately, if you don’t mind turning on the oven, you can toss the marinated shrimp on a baking sheet and roast at 450 F. for about six to eight minutes depending on size. Don’t forget to set your timer. Serve the shrimp along with the lentils, something green (here I used some lovely local broccoli), and this time of year, you can toss a couple of ear of corn on the grill as well to round things out.

You can add a little heat to the marinade with a nice pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, or a bit of cayenne pepper.Roast them in the oven and add a dipping sauce for a little variety. Here, we used a simple sour cream and roasted red pepper sauce.

Vegan version: 

This is lovely using meaty portobello mushrooms! You’ll have plenty of marinade for both, so make a mix if you like. A mushroom stock here is perfect for the lentils if you are also feeding a vegetarian.

The only downside to the vegan version is that it is very brown! Definitely add some herbs here to brighten up the plate.

Portabella or Portobello?

            Although basically the same mushroom, portabella mushrooms are a smaller version of the larger portobello (agaricus bisporus), what you will most commonly find. Both have a distinctive earthy taste and are filled with beneficial nutrients including fiber, anti-oxidants, B vitamins, and minerals. Even younger are the cremini mushrooms, sometimes called chestnut or baby bellas, and younger still the common button mushroom, also known as champagne mushrooms! All the same, but at different stages of growth, and more intense flavor as they age.

Copyright 2024– or current year, The New Vintage Kitchen. Dorothy Grover-Read. The unattributed use of this material and photographs is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to The New Vintage Kitchen, with active link and direction to this original post.

At Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency, we value transparency and accountability. We want to inform you that we are not responsible for any external content, links, or posts. Nonetheless, we are dedicated to providing exceptional services and sincerely appreciate your support. Thank you.