Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 20-24 large shrimp, deveined and tails on
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 rib of celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
  • 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped or grated
  • 2 tablespoons Calabrian chili paste or 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup dry vermouth
  • ½ cup shrimp stock (recipe follows) or seafood stock
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • A handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large pan over medium-high to high heat, add shrimp and sear 2 minutes, then turn, season with salt and pepper, cook a minute more, and remove from pan. Add another turn of oil and the minced celery, shallots and garlic, stir a minute or 2, then add chili paste and stir, add vermouth and let it absorb, add stock and let it bubble and reduce a minute, then add butter and parsley. Swirl, then add shrimp back to pan and turn to coat. Cook shrimp through 2 minutes more and douse with lemon juice, then serve.

 

Make your own shrimp stock using Rachael’s recipe below:
Heads and peels of 20-24 jumbo shrimp/prawns (8-10 per pound)
About 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 leek, quartered and cleaned
1 small onion, halved
1 lemon, sliced
1 bulb garlic, halved across
8 peppercorns
1 large bay leaf
1 bundle parsley and thyme
1 cup dry vermouth
1 quart chicken stock

Toast the shrimp shells and heads in a wide pan over medium-high heat in olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan. Add leek, onion, lemon, garlic, peppercorns, bay and herbs; sweat a few minutes, add vermouth and reduce by half, then add stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat a bit and cook 45 minutes. Strain stock with fine strainer, return to boil and reduce to about 1½-2 cups of concentrated stock. Freeze leftover stock in ½ cup portions in freezer bags.

Yields 1½ - 2 cups.