"Cooking shrimp in the shell maximizes its flavor. This stock is quite spicy, and the shrimp should be cooked at least 2 hours ahead and left in the liquid. Eat them at room temperature, sucking out the juices from the shells. You can enjoy the shrimp as is, but I usually serve it with this piquant cocktail sauce, which includes the unusual addition of julienned radishes. The sauce is also excellent with poached fish or cold meat.
"The spicy shrimp stock is also delicious and should be drunk while eating the shrimp. I prepare a cocktail like one Craig Claiborne used to make with clam juice and vodka, substituting the spicy broth for the clam juice. For each cocktail, pour 2 tablespoons vodka into a small glass and top with 1/3 cup of the cold stock. Stir and enjoy." --Jacques Pépin
Recipe: Spicy Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Shrimp
2 cups water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced scallions
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Greek or Mexican
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound large shrimp (16–20 count) in the shell
Cocktail Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon hot mustard, preferably a grainy variety
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup coarsely chopped scallions
- Instructions:
- Bring all the ingredients except the shrimp to a boil in a medium saucepan and boil gently for about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, stir, bring to a light boil, and stir again. Set the shrimp aside, uncovered, in the cooking stock to cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve. (The shrimp can be made up to 24 hours ahead.)
For the Shrimp
-
For the Cocktail Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate until needed.
- Serve the shrimp with the sauce for dipping and the cocktails (see headnote), if desired.
Recipe from Heart & Soul in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin. Copyright © 2015 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.