Citrus-Marinated Shrimp Recipe

Citrus-Marinated Shrimp

from The Essential Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi

Ingredients:

3/4 pound medium (31-40 count) unpeeled shrimp
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 large lemon, cut into 10 very thin slices
2 small red onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 leaves Boston lettuce
1/4 cup oil-cured black olives

This and many other wonderful recipes may be found in The Essential Best Foods Cookbook
by Dana Jacobi from Phaidon Press

Spanish and Caribbean cooks make escabeche as a way to preserve seafood by first cooking it, then lightly pickling it in wine, vinegar, and olive oil. Here, I substitute citrus juice for the vinegar and add oil just to cover the shrimp.

1. Add the shrimp to boiling water, reduce the heat, and simmer until they turn bright red and curl, about 2 minutes. Drain, peel, and devein the shrimp, leaving on the tail. Place in a mixing bowl.

2. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the orange juice, oil, lemon juice, wine, 6 of the lemon slices, onions, the bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, and red pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour the hot mixture over the shrimp. Let cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

3. Bring the marinated shrimp to room temperature. Lift the shrimp and half the onions from the marinade and set aside. For a first course, line each of 4 plates with 2 lettuce leaves. Add one-quarter of the shrimp, an uncooked lemon slice, some onions and olives. For an hors d'oeuvre, line a platter with the lettuce. Top with the shrimp. Arrange the marinated onions, uncooked lemon slices, and the olives around the shrimp.

Makes 4 first-course servings or 8 hors d'oeuvre servings