This slightly acidic dish uses tomato and green bell peppers to showcase a collection of large shrimp or prawns. Excellent with rice or served plain, tapas style.
Excellent served with Dirty Rice or Coconut Rice and Lentils or over polenta.
Directions
In a large pan, saute until vegetables just turn soft:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Add to the vegetables in the pan, and simmer for 5 minutes on medium/low heat:
- 1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
- 1 Roma Tomato, seeded and diced
- 1/2 lemon juice and zest
- salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3+ dashes tobasco or Louisiana hot sauce (t
Add the shrimp and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked.
- 10-12 large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Stir in cilantro leaves and serve with rice.
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Kids!
A chance for the kids to clean some shrimp, and cut some veggies.
Notes...
This tomato-ey shrimp dish is great with rice, plantains, potatoes, polenta, pasta, or just plain. Don't add too much green bell pepper or onion - it's easy to think "it can use a bit more". But with this dish, too much onion and pepper takes away from the shrimp, which should be coated in a tomato sauce that's flavored by the peppers, onions and garlic, not dominated by them. Remember, it's not a veggie dish! The "spicy" temperature is easily controlled by the amount of hot sauce added. The recipe can tolerate quite a bit more than the three dashes I spelled out in the recipe. I like to err on the safe side, but don't be afraid to add a few extra dashes, just be sure to taste-test pretty often. Some big gulf shrimp work fabulously in this dish. Don't overcook the shrimp ... 10 minutes of simmering is the maximum required for big shrimp. If you are using medium or smaller shrimp, don't oversimmer! It robs the shrimp of its flavor and makes them tough.