The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Pastis shrimp a delicious summer dish with a French twist
This is my French-flavored version of peel ‘n’ eat shrimp. The sauce is delicious and warrants a whole baguette just for sopping up!
It’s one of those summer dishes that I make frequently for friends and family. The dish pays homage to one of my favorite places on earth, the South of France, where pastis was born.
The flavors of pastis — the anise-flavored aperitif from the south of France — and big, fat jumbo shrimp in the shell complement each other.
Ricard is the pastis brand most commonly available in the states, but if you can’t find it, you can use its cooking cousin, Pernod. Pernod is a useful kitchen staple, and is great paired with shellfish, chicken, mushrooms and spinach — anything that is good seasoned
with tarragon.
I leave the shrimp in the shell to protect it from the heat, and because much of the flavor is in the shell. The shrimp can cook longer
if left in the shell, absorbing more of the flavors of the fragrant sauce — plus, it is fun to peel and eat the shrimp once they are cooked.
I place the shrimp in the bottom of a gratin dish and pour a full-flavored potion of pastis, olive oil, garlic, fennel seed, green peppercorns, tarragon and coarse sea salt over it. Once the shrimp are soaked in the sauce, I place the gratin dish in a pre-heated grill or oven, and let them cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. You’ll know when the shrimp are done when they are curled up and pink. It is better to take them out a little under-done than over-done. The smell is intoxicating!
Serve the shrimp hotoff-the-grill in the gratin dish, and soak up the sauce with a loaf of crusty French bread.
Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pit master at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including “Taming the Flame.”