December 13, 2018–The magazine and cooking show Cook’s Country continues to impress me. The December/January 2019 issue had a lot of amazing food choices and as always they provide you the ‘WHY’ behind their recipes. I read thru this particular issue while on an Amtrak to NYC. A few friends and I were going there for what would be an amazing weekend…but I digress.
They wanted to recreate Shrimp Mozambique, a saucy, spicy Portuguese American dish which is “shrimp bathed in a buttery, garlicky, peppery sauce”, without a key ingredient–piri-piri peppers. I’ve never had the original dish but I will definitely make this again!
According to Elle and Matthew from Cook’s Country, the piri-piri pepper is known for its complex fresh, fruity, and hot but not screaming hot flavor. To get the flavor without they actual pepper their research led them to Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (2TBS).
The remaining ingredients were common so you should have them in your pantry. I’ve been harassed for not putting the actual ingredient list so I will start including with this post. For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 slice hearty sandwich bread; I purchased a small roll from my local market
- 1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 chopped garlic cloves; I used waaay more because you can never really have too much garlic
- 2 teaspoons paprika; I had some imported from Spain
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
For the shrimp:
- 2 pounds Extra large shrimp (21-25 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin; see above
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
The dish comes together pretty fast. Process all of the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook the onions until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half.
Add the shrimp and cook until just cooked. Stir in the butter and sauce until the butter melts and sauce is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with crusty bread or over rice.
