Garlic Shrimp that's Juicy, Flavorful & Easy
Monday, November 28, 2016
I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen several years ago that had an amazing tutorial for garlic shrimp. While I've forgotten the exact instructions, I've kept the basic gist: sliced and minced garlic for layers of garlic flavor. Sounds like Heaven to me!
The Heavenly flavor of this garlic shrimp is even more appealing when you look at the health benefits of the ingredients. Garlic has been researched for its benefits to cardiovascular health due in part to its sulfur compounds. The monounsaturated fats and antioxidants in olive oil have also been shown to benefit cardiovascular health, and even the ghee I use for this recipe (which comes from grass-fed cows) provides health benefits. And let's not forget about the shrimp! Shrimp is a great source of vitamin B12, selenium and copper, and also a carotenoid called astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is sold at your local health food store in supplement form, and it was even mentioned by Doctor Oz because it's powerful stuff. Not only does it give seafood like shrimp it's pink color, it is a potent antioxidant!
Shrimp provides a lot of great nutrients, but I'm sure at least a few of you are saying "but wait, what about the cholesterol?!" Don't worry about it! Seriously. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with the USDA just reversed the longstanding recommendation to limit dietary cholesterol in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans because research shows "no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol". The report actually said "overconsumption is not a concern". That's right, you don't need to be concerned about the cholesterol in your diet. You can eat all the garlic shrimp you want!
I'm so confident that this garlic shrimp is good for you that I've made it for all of my loved ones. Many of them have commented that they can't figure out how to cook shrimp this good, that it always ends up chewy and tough. Given that, I thought I should include a secret for cooking shrimp: don't overcook it! Shrimp cooks very quickly, and typically shrimp only takes 2-5 minutes to cook, depending on it's size. The best way to tell when it's cooked is it's color. Raw shrimp is translucent and gray; cooked shrimp is opaque and pink. As soon as shrimp turns opaque and pink, remove it from the heat. If you do, the shrimp will turn out juicy and flavorful with a delicate texture. In a word, scrumptious!
With that little love note, let's get on with the recipe!
Ingredients
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1 lb of 21-25 shrimp, raw, peeled and tail on
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5 large cloves of garlic, 2 sliced thinly and 3 minced
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2 Tbsp of ghee or butter
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3 Tbsp olive oil
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¼ tsp salt, or to taste
Rinse the shrimp under cold water while removing the tails.
Pat the shrimp dry and sprinkle lightly with salt. Add the minced garlic and 1 Tbsp
of olive oil and toss. Set aside.
Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Add the ghee or butter and remaining 2 Tbsp olive
oil. When the ghee and oil are hot, add the sliced garlic and cook for 1-2
minutes, until fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once the
shrimp has turned pink and is no longer translucent, sprinkle it with salt one more time, give it a quick toss and
then remove from heat. Be sure to remove all of the garlic, ghee/butter and oil from the pan to serve with the shrimp. It makes a delicious and essential sauce!
This recipe goes beautifully with the garlic zucchini pasta that I posted awhile ago. Together it makes a meal that is gluten-free, grain-free, Primal, abundant in veggies and nutrient dense. It is quick and easy to make, good for you and yet tastes great. It doesn't get much better than that!
Sources:
Tinker, Ben. "Cholesterol in Food Not a Concern, New Report Says." CNN.com. Feb 19, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/health/dietary-guidelines/.
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