Shell-on Shrimp with Green Pistachio Butter
Serves 2
Shell-on shrimp (or prawns as we like to call them back in the UK) always reminds me of our family holidays at South Shields, Whitley Bay, or, my all-time favorite place in the world, Warkworth near Amble by the sea. We would rent my Aunt Irena’s caravan in the small castle town of Warkworth. The caravan was situated in a farmer’s field about a mile walk from the village. My Mam hated the fact we had to walk between cow pats to get to the caravan. It was funny to us kids, especially at night. We didn’t have lights, only a handheld torch to guide us. Either my brother, sister or I would always stumble into a fresh cow pat. Mam would go berserk, knowing she would be the one cleaning those shoes the next day before we walked back into town for breakfast.
Another funny thing, it always seemed to rain back then. We took our holiday in July, hoping for a bit of the fabulous English summer. The heavens always seemed to open as soon as we arrived. My dad spent his only week of off during the summer listening to those heavy rain drops hitting that tin roof like a World War II tommy gun. It drove him crazy.
The odd day when it didn’t rain, we would travel to Amber by the sea, play on the sandy beaches and forage the rocks for crabs, whelks, and cockles. We would see how many limpets we could pull off the rocks. We would fill our sand buckets full of whelks. My dad would boil them in salted water back at the caravan, drain them, and smoother them with malt vinegar and salt. We’d each got a mug full. We’d use a pin to pull out the snot looking meat from the shell and happily eat away. My mother never liked them, but my dad and us kids loved them.
Another treat while at the beach would be freshly caught prawns from the fishing trawlers. Cooked in their shell and served in newspaper with a little salt and squeeze of lemon. Boy, did they taste good. Those are just some of the happy memories from our holidays by the sea.
Now a days, I like to be a bit more adventurous and serve my shell-on prawns a variety of ways. If you get the chance, try out this easy to make and simple recipe. While you’re at dinner, see how many vacation stories you can share as a family.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons pistachios, crushed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
2 lemons, the juice and zest of 1, cut the other lemon into quarters
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 shell-on large shrimp, cut down the back of the shell and remove intestines
2 tablespoons white wine
4 cups arugula
How to make:
Start by making the green pistachio butter. Place the pistachios, garlic cloves, chili flakes, butter, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a small bowl. Combine all the ingredients together with a spoon until you have a nice bright green butter. Set to one side.
Take a large frying pan and place over a medium high heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shell-on shrimp. Fry for 2 minutes until the shells start to turn pink.
Reduce the heat. Spoon in the green butter and allow the butter to melt. Toss the shrimp in the melted butter, and then add the white wine. Continue to cook the shrimp for 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through and coated well in the green butter.
Divide between plates. Garnish with arugula and wedges of lemon. Enjoy.