Spicy Shrimp in Harissa Butter

 

I am a huge advocate for cooking shell-on shrimp. I like the fact that you can eat the shell (yes, the whole thing) or just peel the shell with your hand. I like that, if you’re lucky to find the shrimp with the heads, you can suck all the juices out and get a little messy, and I want you to like all of that too. These shrimp are deceptively flavorful and complex: spicy (thanks to harissa paste), lemony (thanks to whole, sliced lemon caramelized in the pan), and buttery (thanks to butter). Serve it with a crusty baguette to tear and sop up the sauce, some quick-dressed peppery arugula, and a cold white wine. This whole thing comes together in a true 30 minutes or less, which I like for those nights where doing anything more feels truly impossible

SERVES — 4—6

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 4 large cloves garlic, or 1 shallot, or ½ red onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 lemon, half thinly sliced, half for squeezing over

  • 2–4 tablespoons harissa paste* or gochujang, depending on the paste and your heat tolerance 

  • 1 ½–2 pounds shell-on shrimp, or peeled shrimp

  • 2–4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 baguette, sliced, torn and/or toasted, to serve

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until the slivers are nicely golden (but not too dark), 2–3 minutes. Add lemon slices and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they’ve also started to turn a nice golden brown and frizzle at the edges, 3–4 minutes.

2. Add harissa paste and cook a minute or two in the oil, frying the spices and caramelizing the paste to take the edge off. Add shrimp and a few tablespoons of butter (I think more is better here) and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing until the shrimp are nicely coated, have turned a deep, bright pink, and are noticeably firmer, 4-6 minutes.

3. Remove from heat, squeeze the other half of lemon over the shrimp, and toss to combine before transferring it to a platter. Serve it with arugula and baguette to sop up the sauce.

*Harissa paste, a North African condiment made with chili and spices like cumin and coriander, can be radically different depending on the brand, the ingredients and where it comes from. Some are almost pure chili (lots of heat), some extremely mild, containing ingredients like sundried tomatoes or roasted red peppers for body and sweetness. My preference is to always have two types on hand for different applications, but if I had to choose one, it would be one with more heat than sweetness.

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