I genuinely enjoy my late-life, second career as a chef at Caprae Restaurant at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, and I want to thank all the Illinois Times readers who made the long drive to Champaign for my recent low country seafood dinner.
It’s been a challenging summer, and I’ve spent many nights sweating in my un-air-conditioned hippie bus parked behind the restaurant. But as they say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I love working at the farm so much that I’ve agreed to stay on and try to survive the winter in my uninsulated bus.
Restaurant work is hard on the body, and I feel the effects of arthritis in every joint, so weekends are a welcome respite from my job. I always look forward to returning to our little circa 1910 house in Springfield to relax on the front porch with my wife. It’s always a joy to observe the parade of dog walkers, young families with strollers and children on bikes and scooters passing by.
With the changing season and milder weather, my mind turns to leisurely porch meals, especially substantial salads. To make them truly satisfying, I will often add a protein. Shrimp is a favorite, and I always keep a supply of Gulf shrimp in my freezer. They’re easy to thaw for single servings.
To properly season frozen raw shrimp, I’ve found that thawing them in iced, salted water seasons the shrimp all the way through. In contrast, adding salt during the cooking process only seasons the exterior. My method involves whisking together ¾ cup of kosher salt, 4 cups water and 4 cups of ice in a large bowl. I then add the shrimp and brine them for 20 minutes. After draining, I peel and devein the shrimp, pat them dry with paper towels and lightly dust them with baking soda (¼ teaspoon per pound of shrimp). Baking soda helps keep the shrimp plump and juicy by raising the pH of the muscle proteins, which keeps the muscle fibers from clenching and releasing moisture during the cooking process.
Here are three of my favorite shrimp salads for al fresco dinners on the porch:
Shrimp marinated in vodka and citrus
This shrimp recipe has been a favorite in our household for years, ever since my wife discovered it in a little cookbook that came as a bonus with a Bon Appétit magazine subscription.
Ingredients:
1 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup ketchup
⅓ cup vodka
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ pounds medium (41-50) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
Lettuce cups or Belgian endive spears
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into a large dice.
Preparation:
Combine the juices, ketchup, vodka and hot sauce in a large bowl. Whisk in the oil. Add shrimp, onion and cilantro and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Drain and serve the shrimp mixture in lettuce cups or spoon onto Belgian endive spears. Top with the diced avocado.
Camarones en aguachile – shrimp aguachile
Camarones en aguachile, a signature dish of the coastal Mexican state of Sinaloa, is a dish featuring raw shrimp quickly tossed in aguachile (which translates to “chile water”), a vivid mixture of chiles, lime juice and salt. Unlike ceviche, where seafood marinates for an extended period, camarones en aguachile is served immediately after the shrimp are coated in the chile water.
Ingredients:
1 pound medium (41-50) shrimp, peeled and deveined (See note below.)
1 English cucumber, one half chopped and the other half thinly sliced
2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
I bunch cilantro leaves and stems
1 tablespoon avocado oil
¼ medium red onion, diced
1 ripe Hass avocado
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Tostadas, for serving
Note: I only serve shrimp raw when I can buy them fresh, which is typically during visits to the southeastern coastal states. In the Midwest, most shrimp at seafood counters have been previously frozen and thawed for display. If fresh shrimp aren’t an option, I choose gently cooked shrimp.
Preparation:
Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.
In a blender, combine the chopped cucumber, chiles, lime juice, cilantro, avocado oil and one teaspoon of salt. Pulse until the cilantro is broken down into tiny pieces. Add the diced onion.
For previously frozen shrimp, drain, blanch briefly in salted water until pink, then ice bath. Skip if using fresh shrimp.
Arrange the sliced cucumber in a circle on a serving platter or on individual plates. Drain the shrimp and place them on top of the cucumbers. Pour the chile water over the shrimp and cucumber slices.
Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Thinly slice each half, then fan out on the platter/plates over cucumbers and shrimp. Season with crushed red pepper and salt.
Serve with tostadas.
Jacques Pepin’s sauteed shrimp on salad
I often linger in bed on Sunday mornings, scrolling Instagram. I always enjoy the @jacquespepinfoundation Sunday Demo. He makes everything seem so simple. That’s where this recipe comes from.
Serves four as a first course, or two as a main course
Ingredients:
8 “extra-jumbo” (16/20) shrimp – peeled, deveined and cut in halves or thirds crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 medium garlic clove – minced
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups diced tomato
2 tablespoons parsley
For serving:
Boston lettuce leaves
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and sauté for 1 ½ minutes, then add the onion and garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and let cool while preparing the sauce.
Make the sauce: Combine mustard and sriracha in a small bowl – season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup olive oil. Stir in the diced tomato and parsley.
Arrange lettuce leaves on a serving platter or on individual salad plates. Top with the shrimp and sauce mixture and serve.
Mmmm sounds delicious