It’s been almost a year since last I wrote on this site – but get ready for some fun posts because I’m in Napa for the next month and will be blogging my way through some fun wine & food adventures.
First up: Shrimp Boil!
My boyfriend made this for me for Valentine’s Day, and it is a super easy, festive dish that even the kitchen challenged should be able to manage.
What you’ll need:
Shrimp – 1 1/4 lbs, raw, with their shells still on
Potatoes – ~2 lbs, just about any kind of smallish potato, such as new potatoes, will do
Lemons – a few, cut in half
Corn – 3 cobs, cut in half (frozen or fresh)
Shrimp Boil Spices – we used Zatarran’s
Smoked sausage – such as andouille or languica, sliced into bite size pieces – we used a spicy languica this time
Boiling onions, 5-6, peeled
Garlic, 2 heads, peeled
Quantities are approximately what we used to make about 5 servings, but you can easily adjust to your taste.
Instructions:
If they aren’t already, you’ll need to devein the shrimp. To do this, split the shell down the middle across the top of the shrimp and wash out the gray-green slime you’ll find just inside the skin with cold water.
Fill a large pot with water about 3/4 full. Add a little white wine vinegar (this helps the shrimp shells come off easier when you eat them), then the onions and garlic cloves whole, plus the spices. Squeeze in lemons and then add to water. Boil for about 20 minutes and let stock reduce. Add potatoes and boil until just tender. Add sausage and boil a few minutes longer. Finally, add the corn and shrimp, remove from heat, cover and let stand until the shrimp turn white and float to the top. Drain using a colander and serve!
Note: if you use frozen corn, add it a little before the shrimp to it has time to cook and come up to temp.
Wine Pairing:
We drank a Trousseau Gris by Zeitgeist Cellars in the Russian River Valley, a lighter style white. On the nose we found lychee & citrus, with some floral notes, and the acidity on the palate paired well with the spices of the food.
And since I was wondering what the hell Trousseau Gris is – here is a link to what Wikipedia has to say about it.
à la gourmande 