Cooking like a Mediterranean means respecting your original ingredients. When it comes to shrimps (especially if they are fresh), you just want to feel their natural and intensified flavor in your mouth. So forget about the complex and fancy shrimp recipes. All you need is olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley. Add your shrimps in a hot pan, pour yourself a shot of ouzo (adults only) and in 5 minutes picture yourself on a Greek island enjoying the simple beauties of life.
Hands on: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 kg Shrimps (preferably big)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic (finely chopped) or 1-teaspoon garlic paste
½ lemon (the juice)
1 lemon (the zest)
paprika (preferably smoked)
3 tablespoons parsley (finely chopped)
How to do it
Remove the shells and the tails of your shrimps. Keep the heads to make them tastier. To expose the vein and remove it, use a small, sharp knife to make a shallow slit along the back side of the shrimp (from the head to the tail). OR make your life easier and ask your fisherman to do this for you.
Place a pan over high heat.
When it gets really hot, add the olive oil the shrimps and the garlic clove.
Sauté the shrimps 2 minutes on each side (for big shrimps No 0 and No1), or less for smaller shrimps.
When ready add the lemon juice, wait a few seconds and remove from heat.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, add the lemon zest and the finely chopped parsley and sprinkle some paprika (according to taste).
Tips
If you use frozen shrimps, defrost before you cook.
Do not overcook your shrimps so that they can remain soft and juicy.
Enjoy with a shot of Greek ouzo (adults only).