Garlic Shrimp and White Beans (and the Best Kale Ever)

The past couple weeks have been full of exciting discoveries.  I figured out how to replace a headlight (a tricky thing with a Mazda), which completely trumped my sense of accomplishment regarding the back light replacement.  Because my car repair self-efficacy is fairly low, I recruited my brother-in-law for moral support, but really, I did it myself.

Even more exciting, and more relevant here, I found out that our big cast iron skillet fits in the broiler of our oven, and I found my new favorite kale recipe.  I’m guessing you’re more interested in hearing about these things.

The cast iron skillet discovery came in handy for this Bon Appetit recipe for Garlic Shrimp and White Beans.  I followed the recipe almost exactly, but I do have a few comments (don’t I always?)

• I used a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes rather than fresh chopped tomatoes.  Who wants to buy fresh tomatoes in February?  This did make it a little more liquidy, but this wasn’t a problem with me since I had some delicious sourdough bread to soak it up.
• Next time I think I would squeeze a little lemon juice over the shrimp just before serving.  It could use a little citrus-y brightness.
• I don’t think the last two tablespoons of olive oil (drizzled on the shrimp after broiling) are really necessary.  (Although if you had a citrus-infused olive oil, that might work well instead of just using lemon juice).

Generally, this was a really tasty recipe that came together easily and quickly, and reheated well for lunch.

And now, the kale.  This is ridiculously simple, and not that different from how I have cooked it in the past, but this particular formula seems to be magical in creating a pile of greens that I would never tire of.  It is fully endorsed by Nick, too.  Thank you, Alice Waters.

Sauteed Kale with Garlic and Vinegar (from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters; serves 4-6)

2 bunches kale (about 2 pounds), torn and washed (drained, but no need to spin dry)

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 or 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Salt

Heat a large saute pan and add olive oil and just enough kale to cover the bottom of the pan.  Allow these greens to wilt down before adding more.  When all the kale has been added, season with salt, stir in garlic, and cover the pan.  The greens will take anywhere from just a few minutes to 15 minutes to cook, depending on their maturity.  When they are tender, remove the lid and allow any excess water to cook away.  Turn of the heat and stir in the vinegar.

Note: The recipe mentions that most leafy greens can be cooked using this method.  I’ve cooked Swiss chard like this, and indeed, it’s excellent.

Last Night’s Dinner: Pickled Shrimp and Roasted Asparagus with Herbed Aioli

When you’re peeling parboiled shrimp, you have a lot of time to think.

You consider whether it would be funny to call the recipe “Pickle Me Pink Shrimp”. You decide that it would not be funny.

You worry that you overcooked the shrimp, and in the event that you did, you worry about having enough additional food so that your husband isn’t raiding the kitchen for a bowl of cereal one hour after dinner.

You think about how two years ago, in preparation for your wedding, you purchased about five giant bags of frozen shrimp. You remember very deliberately examining the bags to ensure that you bought peeled shrimp, yet somehow still managed to end up with the unpeeled variety. You wonder if you did enough to compensate your brother- and sister-in-law for preparing your wedding dinner.

Then you get back to looking forward to a quiet Friday night at home with your husband, eating some food, and listening to records.

I was looking for a meal that required a bit more effort and prep than my go-to plan of bread, cheese, and things from the olive bar. But I wanted something I could put together in a leisurely fashion ahead of time. We ended up with a perfect late-spring/early summer menu that could be made earlier in the day and required minimal cooking:

• Brie and baguette
• Pasta tossed with that lovely pesto from Wegman’s olive bar
• Artichoke hearts in oil (also from olive bar)
• Quick pickled shrimp
• Roasted asparagus with lemon and thyme aioli

I was excited about the pickled shrimp, as I had some at our friends’ engagement party several years ago and could not stop eating them that night.  This recipe that just came out in Bon Appetit was pretty good, although it was a bit too onion-y for Nick.  (Personally, the pickling mellowed the onions enough that I enjoyed eating them, but I’m not as sensitive to them as Nick is.)  So if you are not an onion person, you might want to cut back a bit.  I liked the recipe enough that I’m going to make it again and play around with the flavors.  The best part is that the only heat required is boiling the shrimp for about two minutes, so this is a great summer recipe when you’re trying to avoid the stove.

Make sure that when you pull the shrimp out of the boiling water, immediately drain them and run them under cold water. Otherwise they will continue to cook a bit.  As I was peeling the shrimp, I noticed a couple must have missed the stream of cold water and were still warm- I’m guessing those were the few that ended up tasting a bit overcooked. (Most of them were fine, though.)

The original shrimp recipe suggests serving the shrimp on toasted ciabatta with mayonnaise. Since bread and mayo were already in other parts of the menu, I skipped them here. But if you choose to do that, probably a good idea to remove the tails when you shell the shrimp.

The roasted asparagus and aioli comes from a 2010 Bon Appetit recipe that Nick and I used quite a bit that summer. The first time I made it, I attempted to roast the baby artichokes in addition to the asparagus, but since then I’ve leaned towards the no-fuss prep of the asparagus.  I always use thyme instead of oregano, since we are more likely to have it growing outside.  The aioli, by the way, is just as delicious with potatoes cooked in duck fat.  Just figured I’d throw that out there.

Quick-Pickled Shrimp (adapted from the May 2013 Bon Appetit)

serves 4 as an appetizer, or 2 as part of a Friday night dinner spread

1 pound shell-on shrimp

Kosher salt

1/2 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced (a mandoline works well, here)

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced (again, mandoline)

2 garlic cloves, thinly slice (yeah, no mandoline for this- I like my fingers)

1/2 Fresno chile or red jalapeno, thinly sliced and seeded (I used a whole Fresno chile)

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons’ worth)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fennel fronds

Black pepper

Boil a large pot of salted water, and cook shrimp until just opaque, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Peel and devein shrimp.

Combine shrimp with fennel (both bulb and frond), onion, garlic, chile, lemon juice, vinegar, and oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Shrimp can be made up to 2 days in advance, covered and chilled.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon-Thyme Aioli (adapted from the June 2010 Bon Appetit)

Serves 4

Chop 1 teaspoon fresh thyme and add to small bowl. Add 1 small garlic clove, pressed. Grate about 1/4 teaspoon lemon peel and add to bowl, along with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (or a bit more, if you like things lemony). Whisk in 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (if you have an herb-infused olive oil, that would work nicely here). Season aioli with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 425. Trim the tough ends off of 1 bunch of asparagus and arrange asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until asparagus is tender-crisp, between 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness.

Serve asparagus with aioli for dipping. Aioli will keep, covered and chilled, for two days.

Last Night’s Dinner: Pasta with Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari, and Spring Vegetables

At first glance this might look suspiciously similar to the Spaghetti with Seafood and Pinot Grigio recipe that I just posted.  Yes, they both have pasta, white wine, shrimp, and spinach.  But there is one very big difference: this has butter.  And cream.  But not too much cream- we’re not talking Fettucine Alfredo decadence here.  Just enough to pull everything together.  And there are green things mixed in, so that negates the butter and cream, right?  This is a great meal to transition from winter to spring- the cream and pasta give enough richness to be satisfying on a chilly night, but the fresh veggies and seafood bring a lightness that foreshadows the sunny days and warm breezes to come.  It’s also super-quick and easy.

This is based on a Real Simple recipe for Shrimp, Leek, and Spinach Pasta.  The first time I made it, the only uncooked shrimp I could find at Trader Joe’s were in a “Seafood Medley” of shrimp, scallops, and calamari.  I liked the variety, so I’ve stuck with the blend since then, but you definitely would not go wrong with just using shrimp.  The slight sweetness from the little pink guys rounds out the rest of the flavors, and I think the forkfuls that included a bite of shrimp were my favorites.  Since scallops have a little sweetness, too, they would work on their own as well.  If you are looking for a recipe to use just calamari though, I wouldn’t recommend this- they work fine here, but it’s not greatest flavor palate to really showcase squid as the main ingredient.  Which reminds me that I should share my favorite calamari recipe with you soon….

What else is different between my version and Real Simple’s?  Well, my proportions of ingredients are a little different.  Originally, since I was just cooking this for Nick and myself, I planned to reduce the recipe by a third.  It’s supposed to be four servings which seemed like too much but I got nervous that if I cut it in half to two servings, Nick might not have enough to eat.  I still used a full pound of seafood though.  After emptying two-thirds of the shrimp, scallops, and calamari into the pan and contemplating wrapping up the rest and putting it back in the freezer, I just said, “F*** it,” and dumped it all in.   In the end, I think the portions I used would make four reasonable servings- we both went back for seconds after dinner and still had some left for Nick’s lunch the next day (minus the couple bites I sneaked in the morning while supervising the cats’ breakfast feeding).

Pasta with Shrimp, Scallops, Calamari, and Spring Vegetables (serves 3-4; adapted from Real Simple, April 2011)

8 ounces short pasta (I like strozzapreti if you can find it, but fusilli or gemilli works as well)

1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large leek (white and light green parts only), cut into half-moons

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 pound of uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined; or 1 pound total of uncooked small shrimp, bay scallops, calamari rings

grated zest of 1 lemon, plus juice from 1 lemon

1 cup of broccolini, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 ounces baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.

In the meantime, heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks have softened, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the white wine and cook until wine has almost evaporated.  Add seafood and lemon zest and cook, stirring frequently.  When seafood is about half-cooked (starting to get opaque), add the broccolini.  Cook a couple more minutes until seafood is cooked through and broccolini is bright green and slightly tender.

Add cream and a little salt to the large pot with pasta.  Over medium heat, stir until slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes.  Add in seafood mixture, spinach, and lemon juice, and stir until spinach is wilted.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Spaghetti with Shellfish and Pinot Grigio

A few weeks ago I got the urge to visit the seafood market and find some fresh fish or shellfish for dinner.  As I drove home with a pound of shrimp and a four-pound bag of clams, I realized I might have a bit too much food for just Nick and me.  So, we called my parents and invited ourselves over for dinner- they’d provide the kitchen, we’d provide the food.  Seems like a reasonable exchange to me.

This is a wonderfully simple recipe from Giada De Laurentiis’ Everyday Pasta.  It’s pretty quick, too, although I did run into a little trouble with cooking the clams.  You are supposed to add the shrimp and clams at the same time, and simmer until the shrimp are pink and the clams have opened.  According to the book, this should take about 7 minutes.  Yes, the shrimp were done in 7 minutes.  But at 10 minutes, none of the clams had opened yet.  I started to panic, convinced that I had not stored the clams correctly and they were all ruined.  Fortunately, my parents and Nick are a little more patient than I am (at least when it comes to mollusks) and encouraged me to wait a few more minutes before I threw the clams in the trash.  I pulled the shrimp out of the pan so they wouldn’t overcook, and miraculously, at about 12 or 15 minutes, every single clam finally opened.  So… if you have hesitant clams like I did, don’t worry.  But once the majority of clams have opened, do be sure to discard any stubborn ones that remain closed.

Have lots of crusty bread on hand to soak up the wonderful broth.  The white wine adds depth to what is generally a light, but satisfying, dish.

Spaghetti with Pinot Grigio and Seafood (serves 4-6; from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis)

1 pound spaghetti

1/4 cup olive oil

3 shallots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup chopped, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 1/2 cups Pinot Grigio (or other dry white wine)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed (I used four pounds, because that’s how they were sold… no one complained)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups arugula (or baby spinach)

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions, and drain.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add shallots and garlic and cook for three minutes, until tender but not brown.  Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute.  Add wine, shrimp, and clams.  Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover.  Simmer until shrimp are pink and clams have opened.  (As I mentioned, if your clams are being stubborn, you can always remove the shrimp from the pan so they don’t overcook.)   Discard any clams that have not opened.

Add the spaghetti to the skillet (or if you don’t have enough room, return the spaghetti to the now-drained pot where you cooked the pasta and then add the seafood mixture in the pot).  Add salt and pepper, stir to combine, then fold in arugula (or spinach).  Serve immediately.

Last Night’s Dinner: Pumpkin and Shrimp Curry

I am pretty sure that if your husband sneaks into the kitchen right before bed because he “just wanted to look at the leftovers” it means you cooked a pretty awesome dinner.

There are only a few days left of The Cleanse and while I’m still going strong, I’m also getting a little bored with using recipes from only one source.  So yesterday when I was ripping out pages from last year’s Bon Appetit magazines, and I came across an exciting recipe that seemed to fit within The Cleanse guidelines, I jumped on it.  While none of the Whole Living Detox recipes use shellfish, it is also not explicitly listed as something to avoid, so I figured shrimp would be okay.  And since the canned pumpkin and coconut milk were both unsweetened, that seemed acceptable as well.

Using pumpkin in something other than desserts has been on my culinary to-do list for a long time.  I still have plans to make kaddo borawni at some point, but a curry using canned pumpkin puree seemed like a good weeknight dinner.

Once again I am grateful for the reviews on Epicurious, from which I anticipated that the recipe might need a little bit of tweeking, mainly in upping the amount of curry powder.  And I liked the other suggestions I read for using garam masala as well.  Some people suggested cutting back on the amount of vegetable broth, but I thought the original quantity was fine.  This might have been because I made a couple additional changes, though.  I used more butternut squash since I had some to use up, and I also added some cauliflower that was eagerly waiting to leave my fridge.  So the extra “stuff” in the curry might have made it less soupy.  Also, I hate buying tomatoes in the winter so I used canned diced tomatoes instead.

Oh, one more thing.  I cooked the whole thing in a big skillet rather than a large saucepan.  Does this make a difference?  I don’t know.  I had two motives for doing so, and neither of them were concerned with improving the recipe.  First, my large saucepan was already occupied by brown rice.  Second, I really wanted to be finished cooking before 30 Rock started, and I thought maybe the larger surface area would allow me to cut back on some of the cooking times.  Again, I don’t know if this actually is true.  But letting everything simmer for 15 instead of 20 minutes did not appear to have any detrimental effects.  Because Nick thought this was one of the best things I’ve ever cooked.

Pumpkin and Shrimp Curry (adapted from Bon Appetit via Epicurious)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp minced garlic

10 oz of diced tomatoes, drained (about two-thirds of a 14.5 oz can)

1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 1/2 tsp curry powder*

1 tsp garam masala*

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper*

1 cup chopped cauliflower florets

1 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash, diced

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice

Cooked short-grain brown rice

Chopped cilantro

Fried shallots

*For all the spices, these are estimates, as I don’t usually measure spices.  I’m sorry… I should start doing that if I’m going to share recipes with you guys….  My estimates are on the low end, so start with that and then up the amounts to your taste.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and ginger and sprinkle with salt; saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in tomatoes and pumpkin puree; cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes.  (They said to cook until pumpkin was golden-brown, but mine was kinda that color to begin with.  So I figured after about 8 to 10 minutes I could move on to the next step.)  Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper, and cauliflower.  Simmer about 15-20 minutes.  (I think all the flavors are well-blended after 15 minutes; if you want your cauliflower a little more cooked, let it simmer a bit longer).  Add squash, shrimp, and lime juice.  Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm.  Season with salt to taste.

Spoon curry into bowls and place a scoop of brown rice in the center.  Garnish with cilantro and shallots.

Last Night’s Dinner: Lemon and Zucchini Risotto with Broccolini and Shrimp

I get a little nervous when Nick takes the first bite of something I’ve prepared and is then silent.  Is he completely disappointed?  Is he about to suggest that we throw the plates in the trash and order pizza?  Fortunately, when I broke the silence last night and asked him if dinner was okay, the response was, “This one is special.  Really outstanding.”

Following the few weeks surrounding our wedding and honeymoon, which were filled with lots of dinners out and convenience foods, I was excited to get back into the kitchen and eat some food we prepared ourselves.  In all of the recent dining out, I’ve had a couple really good risotto dishes, so I decided it was finally time to take a stab at the “Lemony Zucchini Risotto” recipe in The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman.

I received The Food Matters Cookbook last year for my birthday, and I absolutely love the concept behind it- meals based on plants (e.g., veggies, fruits, whole grains) with animal products as a part – but not the center – of the meal.  Think “Linguine with Tomatoes and Clams” rather than “Clams with Linguine and Tomatoes.”

Bittman’s risotto relies on grated zucchini to provide richness, and the “optional” additions of Parmesan and chopped fresh basil really round it out.  Having never made risotto before, I followed the recipe closely, and then topped it with some sauteed shrimp, broccolini, and fresh diced tomatoes.  An impressively fancy meal that, while time-consuming, is also very basic.

Because this is a more complicated recipe, I’m going to swap out my typical narrative style for a more straightforward “cookbook” style:

Lemony Zucchini Risotto (adapted from Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook)

Serves 4, Requires 45-60 minutes

Salt

1 cup short-grain brown rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped (I used vidalia)

Black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine or water (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

3 to 5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, or water

4 small or 2 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds), grated

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional (but, really, unless you’re vegan, why say no to cheese??)

1 tbsp butter or additional olive oil, optional (I opted for the olive oil)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish, optional (I highly recommend it)

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it.  Stir in the rice, adjust heat so the water bubbles steadily, and cook without stirring for 10 – 15 minutes.  Drain well.

2. Put the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  When it’s hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens (about 5 minutes).  Add rice and stir occasionally, for a couple of minutes.  (Bittman says to cook the rice until it is “glossy and coated with oil”, but mine looked like that as soon as I stirred it in, so I let it go a couple more minutes.)  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the wine.  Stir and let the liquid bubble away.

3. Gradually add the stock, about 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir after each addition and then every minute or so.  When stock is just about evaporated, add more.  The mixture should be neither soupy nor dry.  Keep the heat medium to medium-high and stir frequently.  (It seemed like I was adding a 1/2 cup every 5 minutes or so.)

4. After about 15 minutes of adding stock, stir in zucchini and cook, stirring, until it releases its liquid and the mixture again becomes dry.  Begin tasting the rice about 5 minutes later; you want it to be tended but with still a tiny bit of crunch.  It could take as long as 45 minutes to reach this stage. When it does, stir in lemon zest and juice, and Parmesan, butter, and basil if you are using them.  Season to taste.  Serve immediately, garnished with additional basil if you like.

So, this last step is where I deviated a bit.  First, at 15 minutes, I had only added 1 1/2 cups of stock to the rice, so I didn’t add the zucchini until 20 minutes of adding stock.  At that point I had added 2 cups (not the 3-5 the recipe calls for).  After adding the zucchini, I think it was about 10 minutes until the rice met my idea of “tender but with a tiny crunch.”

Sauteed Shrimp and Broccolini

At the point of adding the zucchini, I heated another small skillet with about a tbsp of olive oil, and sauteed 1/2 pound of jumbo shrimp, seasoned only with salt and pepper.  When the one side was pink, I flipped them over and added a splash of Sauvignon Blanc in there with them.  When the other side was pink, I removed them from the skillet.  Then I added about 6 stalks of broccolini and a little water (maybe 1/4 inch deep) to the skillet and covered.  After letting them steam for about 4-5 minutes (they should be bright green), I drained the remaining water and adding a little more olive oil and another splash of Sauvignon Blanc to the skillet.  Tossed the broccolini for a minute or so, then removed from heat.

Once risotto was finished (technically I did not serve “immediately” since the broccolini was still cooking, but I don’t think it was problematic), I placed a serving in a bowl, arranged broccolini stalks around and shrimp on top in the center.  Sprinkle with some chopped fresh tomato (room temperature) and a little more chopped fresh basil.

*Please note that the shrimp and broccolini portions are for two people and the risotto yields 4 servings.  This allowed Nick to go back for a little more risotto.  And it meant I had an awesome lunch today: put a handful of raw baby spinach in a microwave-safe bowl, top with leftover risotto and heat for a minute or two, until spinach is mostly wilted.   Stir spinach into risotto and top with chopped tomatoes and basil.

Last Night’s Dinner: Baked Shrimp with Garlic and Rosemary

Fresh produce causes me a lot of anxiety.  I love having vegetables and fruits around, but I absolutely hate letting food go to waste.  And up until about a month ago, we had a refrigerator that would simultaneously melt ice cream in the freezer and freeze a pack of cilantro in the veggie bin, so I’m still getting used to the concept that I might be able to safely freeze some produce that doesn’t look like it’s going to be used in a timely fashion.  In the mean time, poor Nick has to deal with phone calls and texts from me reminding him about the bag of cherries in the fridge.

“Hey, I bought some cherries.”

“Don’t forget about the cherries we have.”

“Did you eat any cherries today?”

“Will you please eat some f***ing cherries before they go bad??”

Anyway, my decision to grow some herbs on our porch causes a similar dilemma.  It’s great not having to buy four times the quantity of parsley that I need for a given recipe.  But at the same time, once I have easy access to a bunch of rosemary and thyme, my need for them seems to disappear.  And while I don’t have to worry about them rotting, it seems silly to not be taking advantage of them.  So last night my inspiration for dinner was, “I should use some of that rosemary growing out there….”  After purchasing some shrimp, I found this recipe as a starting point: Grilled Rosemary Garlic Shrimp.  Yum!  Only problem?  No grill.

This is why I love the reviewer comments on Epicurious.  Yes, occasionally you get someone who willingly admits they’re rating a recipe because it just sounds so good but they haven’t cooked it (helpful- thanks), but overall, the reviewers provide useful suggestions, like, “I’ve cooked it twice, once with half the sugar, and saw no difference.”  And last night, it was great because several reviewers suggested throwing the shrimp in a pan with some butter and baking them, which took care of my grill problem.

I skipped mincing and mashing the garlic by just using my garlic press, and used about 6 cloves of garlic.  Mixed that in a glass baking dish with about 4 tbsp of olive oil and about 2 tbsp of chopped rosemary.  Added the shrimp (3/4 pounds was good for two servings with leftovers for my lunch) and turned them to coat, covered with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour.

With the oven set at 400 degrees, I dotted the shrimp with about a tablespoon of butter (yes, I do use butter sometimes, despite comments in a recent post) and baked for about 15 minutes, although I went more on when the shrimp looked done than a particular time.

Served over rice with a side of steamed asparagus.  I’d like to see how the recipe works if the shrimp are able to marinate longer, as suggested in the original recipe, but it was definitely flavorful after sitting for 1 hour.