SpiceLines

At the restaurant a few weeks ago, one of my favorite dishes was a little bowl of buttered King prawns with tomato, black olives and Arak, a potent Middle Eastern liquor made of aniseed and distilled grapes. Grilled foccacia on the side sopped up all the luscious buttery sauce in the bottom of the bowl.

Guess what? You can find the exact recipe in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Like so many of their recipes, this one is simple and straightforward, yet full of flavor. There are just 8 ingredients, but you must start with the freshest possible shrimp, even if they are not quite as succulent and sea-sweet as the ones we had at the restaurant. (In the recipe below, see a never-fail method of “sweetening” the shrimp which I found in the late Barbara Tropp’s China Moon Cookbook.)

You must also have Arak, or a similar liquor. It’s drizzled into the pan when the shrimp are almost done, and the alcohol is allowed to evaporate before the dish is finished with more butter, garlic and parsley. Yotam and Sami write that Arak “complements but also mellows the intensity of the tomatoes and olives,” leaving just hint of anise in the “heavenly buttery sauce.“

Here at home, I adapted the recipe just a little. For King prawns, substitute large shrimp (about 16 to a pound). For the Arak, I used Pernod which also tastes like anise or licorice. (In that vein, you could probably use Greek ouzo as well.) To boost the flavor, I also used a little more Pernod and red pepper than were called for in the original recipe.

While I was stirring the shrimp, it occurred to me that you could take this simple, but brilliant recipe in other directions. For instance, you could give it a French twist with green Piccholine olives and white wine, or go Moroccan with oil cured black olives, a bit of cinnamon and preserved lemon. Like Mexican? Try cilantro and fresh jalapeno or serrano chiles, sliced thin.

The whole dish takes a mere 30 minutes from start to finish—so you can take your plate outside with a glass of wine just in time to soak up the last warm rays of the setting sun.

Golden azaleas are perfuming the spring air with their honeyed fragrance--I plan to devour these buttery shrimp on the steps nearby.

Buttered Shrimp with Tomato, Kalamata Olives and Pernod
(Adapted from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook)

Serve 4 as a starter, or 2 as a main course

Ingredients:

4 plum tomatoes
1 pound large, fresh shrimp, about 16
3 tablespoons softened butter
½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste (I used ¾ teaspoon)
15 or 16 Kalamata olives, pits removed
4-1/2 teaspoons Pernod, or to taste (I used close to 6 teaspoons)
3 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Coarse sea salt
Grilled or toasted whole grain bread or focaccia

Method:

1. Prepare the tomatoes: Bring a small pot of water to boil. Using a sharp knife, make a small cross at the bottom of each tomato. Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and when they have cooled slightly, peel them. Core the tomatoes and cut each one into 4 to 6 wedges. Set aside.

2. Prepare the shrimp: Remove the peels, but leave the tail section in place. Using a sharp knife, cut down the back of each shrimp and rinse away the dark vein.

3. When all the shrimp have been peeled and deveined, put them in a medium bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of sea salt. Add cold water to cover and swish the shrimp with your fingers. (This removes any impurities, and sweetens and firms the flesh.) Drain and repeat the process, then rinse once more with cold water. Drain well and set aside.

4. Place a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. When very hot, add one tablespoon of butter and sauté the prawns for 1 to 2 minutes, shaking the pan or flipping them around with a spatula. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and olives, and continue sautéing for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the prawns are almost cooked through. Drizzle in the Pernod. Let the alcohol evaporate for 1 minute before quickly adding the remaining butter, plus the garlic, parsley and salt to taste. Toss to blend the flavors, then serve immediately with grilled or toasted peasant bread. (I used grilled whole grain sourdough and it was fantastic dipped in the butter sauce.)