Shrimp and Tomato Puree

Last Wednesday afternoon I had no idea on what to make for dinner.

Mrs. Zesty was traveling and it was just me and the kids.

The only thing I knew I was having were the shrimp I took out of the freezer in the early morning.  My mind was blank when I was trying to pair the shrimp with the reduced pantry and fridge.  Fresh vegetables were at a minimum and I was starting to panic.

Wait now… panic?  That was totally just for effect.  Of course I was not in panic mode.  I noticed on the top shelf in the pantry we had canned tomatoes which proved to be the starting point for the dish.  I did a quick whiz of the tomatoes with my thunder stick ( hand held blender) and threw it in a pot to start simmering.  To the tomatoes, I went with the flavor of garlic, coriander, black pepper and a hint of lemon zest to jazz it up.

A simple side dish of garlic and olive oil cous cous was a match and would allow me to serve the shrimp over the top with a ladle of the puree.  I was set to go.

Ingredients

• 26-30 uncooked Jumbo Shrimp ( 1 Lb.) Peeled and deveined
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. Coriander
• 1 Large can of tomatoes, 28 fl oz
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 3 Tbsp. heavy cream

Method

1. Puree tomatoes in a blender and add to sauce pot over medium heat.



2. Stirring add the coriander, garlic, salt and pepper and bring to a slow boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and let reduce about 15 mins.
4. Add the zest of the lemon and slowly add the cream to the now reduce tomato mixture.
5. Stir thoroughly and continue to keep on low heat.
6. Pat dry the shrimp and season with salt and pepper on both sides;



7. Preheat a large pan over medium high heat.  Add both the olive oil and sesame oil.
8. Slowly place the seasoned shrimp in the pan, leave them searing for about 1 minute on the first side.  They will begin to turn pink/orange.  Flip them over, ladle in a little of the tomato puree and turn the heat down.  The shrimp will finish cooking in the sauce for another minute.





9. Spoon over the prepared garlic and olive oil cous cous ( This is assuming you just followed the directions on the cous cous box) and served with a little roasted broc and cauliflower
10. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Shrimp is very easy to over cook.  Use the color changing feature of shrimp to let you know they are cooked.  The last thing you want it is an over-cooked shrimp so it is very important to watch the color.

I hope you enjoyed this knock off dinner dish with whatever in the world you have left to eat.  It is kind of the way I like to “roll” and makes for fun adventures in the kitchen.

So Monday is here and a new week is upon us again.  I hope you have a great start to your week and give this simple recipe a try when you are in a pinch.

Take care

zesty

Tagged as: shrimp, tomato puree