Yin and Yang Shrimp
Shrimp is on the menu today. I call this particular dish my yin and yang shrimp because of the balance and harmony of its individual elements. There's a delicate interplay of opposites that enhance one another while also providing balance and symmetry. I have a bodaciously herbaceous green cilantro and parsley sauce (That's the yang part.) and a cooling, refreshing yogurt sauce with cucumber (The yin part.) to tame some of the heat in the green.
I have lots of cilantro and parsley in my garden right now, so I'm putting together an herbal sauce with lime, garlic, and jalapeño, along with some olive oil to blend it all together. The yogurt sauce I'm providing serves as a nice counterpoint to the heat, offering a crisp, invigorating component that will temper the heat. All in all, the different constituents of this dish worked quite well together. There's a balance of opposing yet complementary forces. As I said, it's my yin and yang shrimp.
I'll be sautéing shrimp in olive oil and butter, then stirring in the green sauce to coat the shrimp and serving it on a nest of fettuccine, with the yogurt sauce drizzled over top. If you'd like some toasted baguettes to sop up the extra sauce with, I wouldn't stop you.
Alternatively, instead of serving this shrimp as a main meal, you could also
serve it as an appetizer. Suggestions to
follow.
For the green sauce, first chop the parsley and cilantro, mince the jalapeño, slice the green onions, and zest and juice the lime. Combine all ingredients in a mini-processor and pulse away. Gradually add in the oil, processing until you get a nice consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
*¹ Note: For the amounts of cilantro and parsley, go with your personal tastes here. You could use all of one or the other, or a blend. I tend to blend, favoring the cilantro here. And I know there are some people in the I Hate Cilantro It Tastes Like Soap Camp, so you can use all parsley.
*² Note: You can control the heat in the green sauce by how you prepare your jalapeños. If you want more heat, leave in the seeds and pith, the white membrane, and chop up the whole pepper. If you want less heat, then take out the seeds and the white membrane. The highest concentration of capsaicin is in the seeds and pith, capsaicin being the chemical compound in chili peppers that is the source of the spicy heat. As for myself, I use the whole jalapeño with the pith and seeds because I like the heat. Also, if you're picking jalapeños from the produce department and want hot, hot peppers, look for jalapeños with striations on the skin. That's a good indicator of the heat value.
*³ Note: I used two different olive oils here. I used my go-to neutral-flavored Bertolli Extra Light olive oil, then I decided I wanted an olive oil with a stronger flavor to balance with the cilantro. For the stronger olive oil, I use Corto Truly Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Since I'm unable to find it anywhere on the beach, I buy it from Amazon; but if you want something local, I recommend going to an olive oil shop and sampling the different oils that are available. Chip's Wine and Beer's sister store, Outer Banks Olive Oil, or Ella's Olive Oil are 2 places where I'm able to sample before buying. This is a great way to experience new olive oils and tailor your oil to your meal offerings.
Ingredients for the Yogurt Sauce:
2-3 TB chopped mint
1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil (Again, I used Corto Truly.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Peel the cucumber, then dice it. Place pieces in colander, lightly salt with kosher salt, and let drain for about 15 minutes.
Whisk together yogurt, lime juice, and olive oil. Stir in mint and drained cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Taste test and adjust if you'd like more mint or lime or olive oil.
You want the consistency drizzle-able, so add more olive oil as needed.
Prepare the shrimp:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the butter starts sizzling, place shrimp in skillet and cook, undisturbed for a minute or so, then add another tablespoon or two of butter, and cook the other side until the shrimp are just cooked through, about another minute. Remove from heat and, stirring, pour enough green sauce over the shrimp to coat.
To plate:
Make a little nest of the fettuccine, nestle in the green shrimp, and drizzle on the yogurt sauce. Add a sprinkling of chopped cilantro and/or parsley.
See those little green balls in
there?
This is one of the perks of growing your own cilantro. My cilantro is going to seed and those are
the raw, green cilantro seeds. When the
seeds harden and turn brown, that's coriander.
punch of citrus.
My yin and yang shrimp will also make perfect little appetizers.
Place a small dollop of the yogurt sauce on your favorite tortilla chip and top with a small bit of the cilantro sauce. Garnish with the raw cilantro seeds, cilantro leaves, and cilantro flowers. Or parsley.
For another option, spoon a bit of the yogurt mixture on a Ritz cracker and top with the cilantro purée and a shrimp. “Everything tastes great when it sits on a Ritz!”
