Karin's Week Eight Recipe: Shrimp Curry

One of the items that is a staple in my household pantry/freezer/fridge, is frozen raw shrimp. They are fairly inexpensive, and a tasty alternative to poultry and beef. They also can be thawed out in 20 min in a bowl of cold water, which is an additional plus in my book.

This recipe came from a cookbook called Six Spices: A simple concept of Indian cooking. The author is a local one, originally from India, and most of the recipes are fairly easy to understand and to make. She also does a nice job of explaining how to make the little additions that give Indian cooking such great flavors.

Shrimp Curry

2 T lemon juice
1 tsp salt, divided
1 lb large shrimp (about 12-15), peeled and deveined (I just used the shrimp I had, regardless of size)
4 T cooking oil, divided (In my house, this is olive oil)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp ginger, finely chopped (I used powdered ginger, about a tsp or so)
2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (I used Penzey's Medium Chili Powder)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 c coconut milk (I used a 15oz can of coconut milk, as this was close enough)
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped (I used 1 T of Penzey's dried cilantro)

(I also added 2 tsp of Penzey's Sweet Curry powder, mostly because I had it and it smelled good. I also figured that since I was using a bit more coconut milk than called for, a little extra spice wasn't a bad thing.)

Mix lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt in a bowl. Place shrimp in the bowl, toss and marinate for 30 minutes. (You can get everything else ready to go while this is marinating, including measuring your rice into the rice cooker.)

Heat 2 T of oil in a nonstick frying pan. Drain shrimp and reserve the marinade. Place shrimp in the hot oil; cover the pan and cook a few seconds, turning the shrimp and cooking until they are firm and pink. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

Pour the remaining oil into the pan and heat on med heat. Add onions, ginger, and garlic. Fry for 1-2 min, stirring continuously until onions are soft. Add the spices and marinade into the pan, and mix well. Add shrimp and remainder of the salt to the masala. Turn shrimp frequently to coat with the spices. Pour the coconut milk over the shrimp and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer the curry for another 5 minutes. Add the cilantro into the curry and serve hot over boiled rice. (I also added some frozen peas in with the coconut milk, as this curry had no veg in it, and I wanted a complete meal in a bowl. Once the peas were thawed and hot, the curry was done.)

This was a fairly easy and very tasty recipe. My live-in taste tester said that it wasn't as spicy as it smelled, but had a warming effect. This is another good winter recipe, and fit into my quick and easy lunch requirements, as the rice was done at the same time the curry was. I will probably make this again, and am now looking for other good recipes to try from this cookbook, so you may see some more Indian recipes popping up throughout the year.

Karin's Week One Recipe: Lobster Risotto

Hi there! I know I'm weighing in rather late, but as your foreign blog correspondent, this is the first chance I've had to post from "out East". I read about the challenge, and decided to try it on my own, as I have an entire cupboard of cookbooks of all types. Having now been invited to post along with the others, I'm delighted!

I hope that you won't be overwhelmed with the onslaught of recipes all in a row. I promise to put a bit more space in between in the rest of this year. Most of my entree and side dish recipes will probably be short prep and cook time, as in my household, we eat our big meal at lunch. This limits the amount of time one has in the kitchen, as I often don't like thinking of cooking a big meal the minute I'm awake, and sometimes I forget to thaw things out the night before. An additional requirement in my household is that every big meal have some sort of meat dish in it.

I really like making risotto, ever since I found out how easy it is to cook. I have a cousin-in-law who is from Sicily, Italy, and also is a chef, and he said really, once you start adding the stock in, you just need to stir it when you pass the stove and all will be well. I have a great little cookbook that is entirely risotto recipes, and in the winter it is a warm and filling meal. Also, almost a 1 pot meal, if you don't count how you heat the stock. Just what I like, Veg and Starch and Protein all in one dish!

Lobster Risotto (for 2)

1 cooked lobster, or 1lb jumbo shrimp (I used 16-20count frozen uncooked shrimp)
2.5 c fish stock (I used chicken stock, because I always have it on hand)
1T olive oil
2oz butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1t chopped fresh thyme leaves (I used Penzey's dried thyme)
generous 3/4c risotto rice
2/3 cup sparkling white wine (or dry vermouth)
1t green or pink peppercorns in brine, drained & coarsely chopped (I used plain pink peppercorns)
1T chopped fresh parsley (again with the Penzey's dried)

If using lobster, twist off the claws and set aside. Remove all body meat and put with the claws. Bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan, the reduce heat to simmer. Keep simmering throughout. Heat the oil and 1/2 the butter in a large, rather deep frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5min until soft. Add garlic and cook 30sec more. Stir in the thyme. Reduce heat, add the rice and stir to coat in the butter/oil. Cook stirring constantly for 2-3min until rice looks mostly translucent. Stir in the wine and cook for 1min until reduced. Add the hot stock, 1 ladleful at a time, stirring after each addition until the rice absorbs it. Increase the heat to medium until the liquid bubbles. Cook for 20min or until all the liquid is absorbed. 5min before the end of the cooking time, add the lobster meat/claws (or shrimp) and heat until cooked through. Remove pan from heat and stir in the peppercorns, remaining butter and the parsley. Serve at once.

So, would I serve this again? Yes, although with the substitutions, it is maybe a completely different recipe than the one in the book. You be the judge. I had read somewhere at some time that one could substitute vermouth for white wine, and seeing as this was a lunch dish, I did not want to open a new bottle of wine. I did a 1:1 substitution which gave it an interesting flavor. I have since learned it's supposed to be more like a 1:2/3 substitution. Oh well, it still tasted good!