Salt-Roasted Shrimp with Black Pepper and Lemon
Quick Recipes Appetizers Simple Recipes Fish and Seafood
Are you ready to work a little for better flavor?
It's known that preparing whole (unpeeled) shrimp enhances their aroma and sweetness. And done this way, on a bed of salt that slowly and evenly diffuses heat, they will cook uniformly.
Note: my husband isn't a fan of unpeeled shrimp - he's not willing to work while eating 😊, so today at lunch I peeled them and quickly grilled them in a grill pan, then covered them with the dressing. Delicious that way too.
Ingredients
Salt-Roasted Shrimp
20 fresh unpeeled shrimp (medium size)
coarse sea salt (I use the non-iodized kind for pickling)
1 lemon
Black Pepper and Lemon Dressing
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
zest from 1/2 small organic lemon
1 large garlic clove
5 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Servings: 2-3
How to prepare salt-roasted shrimp with black pepper and lemon
- Prepare the dressing: put the peppercorns in a mortar and crush them very well. Add the finely grated lemon zest and the crushed or thinly sliced garlic. Add the oil and lemon juice. Mix with the pestle. Don't add salt - the shrimp will get enough salt in the next step.
- Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator half an hour before preparation to come to room temperature.
- Pat them dry with paper towels. Don't clean them - leave them with heads and shells. This way they will cook slowly and come out sweeter. The bed of salt will help them cook evenly (more evenly than directly on a pan or grill) so you don't risk overcooking them.
- Put a layer of coarse salt in a cast iron pan or the widest grill pan you have. The layer of salt should completely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Heat the pan with salt for 5 minutes over high heat, until the salt starts to smoke very lightly.
- Then place the shrimp on the salt, don't crowd them. Cook for 5 minutes on the first side and then 3 minutes on the second. A little salt will stick to the shrimp, which is why no salt was needed in the dressing.
- Transfer the shrimp to a bowl. When you've finished all of them, pour the pepper dressing over them and mix gently.
- Arrange the shrimp on a platter, pour the dressing from the bowl over them and squeeze more lemon juice on top.
- Serve warm, with lemon quarters and rustic bread for the sauce. And don't forget the wet wipes 😉
The shrimp cook slowly on salt
