Venezuelan Peppers with Shrimp
Submitted by jshimpock
Shell-on shrimp sauteed in garlic-chili oil, piled over meltingly soft red peppers slow-cooked in Spanish olive oil. Tear off crusty bread, soak it in that rose-colored oil, and feast.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
45 minREADY
75 minThis is the kind of dish where the olive oil does all the heavy lifting, and what it delivers is pure magic.
Red bell peppers cook low and slow in Spanish olive oil until they practically dissolve into silk, turning the oil a gorgeous rose color in the process.
Garlic gets its own gentle bath until golden and sweet, then shell-on shrimp hit a screaming hot pan with minced chili pepper for a quick sear.
Everything comes together on a platter: the peppers and their fragrant oil in the center, the pink shrimp circled around the edges, and thick slices of crusty French bread on the side for sopping up every last drop.
Crumble some feta on top if you want a salty, tangy bite that pulls the whole thing together.
Chef Tips
- Keep the shells on the shrimp while cooking. They protect the meat from overcooking and add flavor to the oil.
- Cook the peppers over genuinely low heat. If they brown at all, the heat is too high. You want them silky, not charred.
- Use good Spanish olive oil here since it’s essentially a main ingredient, not just a cooking medium.
- Slit the shrimp up the back and devein, but leave the shell intact for each diner to peel at the table.
Ingredients
Directions
- Bell peppers should be seeded and cut into thin julienne strips.
** Garlic cloves should be peeled and cut into ¼ inch chunks.
Slit the shrimp up the back with a sharp knife.
Remove the vein, but do not peel shrimp.
Set them aside. Combine 2 cups of olive oil and the red pepper strips in a deep heavy skillet or sauté pan.
Heat slowly.
Cook very gently until the peppers are extremely tender but not at all browned. (The oil will turn a lovely rose color.) Set peppers aside.
Pour the remaining oil into another skillet with the garlic pieces.
Stew the garlic slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender and golden.
Scoop out the garlic with a strainer or slotted spoon and add it to the peppers.
Heat the garlic oil until it ripples.
Throw in the minced chili pepper and the shrimp.
Saute, tossing the shrimp in the oil, until they turn pink and are just done.
To serve, spoon the peppers and their oil into a serving dish.
Surround with the shrimp. Serve with bread.
Each diner soaks slices of bread in the oil and piles the bread with peppers and garlic.
Feta cheese may be eaten with it and the shrimp goes on top.
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