Preparing, cooking and presenting food dishes in a creative way
I’ve always admire visionary chefs and the dedication to their craft as well as their creativity and attention to details to come up with beautiful and delicious food. I also happen to like food photography. What’s not to like? My fiancée loves to cook at home — even more so during quarantine — and she also loves great food. I might cook occasionally, but I'm not a good cook. That's not my passion. Women love a man who can cook, especially one who can cook well. So, yesterday I decided to roll up my sleeves, get in the kitchen, and cook something! There's nothing like sweating over a hot stove and then bringing out some banging dish to the table. And seeing my lady smile and happy is honestly the highlight of my day.
I hope you find inspiration and helpful tips from this blog post. This meal is easy enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for guests or a special occasion.
Pine Nuts Butter Shrimp with Quinoa
Ingredients
For the salad
Ripe
Figs
Baby Arugula
Pea Shoots
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
For the main dish
Quinoa
Unsalted Butter
Yellow Onion
Celery Stalks
Garlic Cloves
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Tomato Paste
Paprika
Vegetable Stock
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Raw Prawns
Pine Nuts
Garlic Powder
Red Pepper Flakes
Lemon Chives or Parsley (for garnish)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Recipe Instructions (for two people)
Take off the top stem from 4-5 ripe figs and cut them into quarters. Place the figs on top of the baby arugula and pea shoots salad, and drizzle the salad with a little bit of thick dark olive oil. Finish it up with a reduction balsamic vinegar.
Place a skillet over medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp of butter completely, then add onion and celery. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the onion has begun to soften. Mix in 3 cloves of minced garlic and let bloom for 30 seconds (avoid burning the garlic).
Take a cup of uncooked quinoa and place it into the same pan. Add a little bit of olive oil, then stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute toasting the quinoa.
Pour in 2 cups of vegetable stock and let the quinoa mixture come to a boil. Then bring down the heat to low and add oregano, thyme, paprika, 2 Tbsp of tomato paste, and salt to taste. Stir to combine the ingredients, then cover the pan and let it simmer for a good 12-15 minutes.
Take 8-10 raw prawns and give it a quick rinse. Place them in a cutting board. Take the heads off and remove the armor around the main body. Leave the tail for aesthetics purposes. Once the body armor is off, take a very sharp paring knife and very carefully score the top of the prawn along the back (a technique called butterflying), which will open up the back of the shrimp and expose a vein (digestive segment) that should be removed for taste reasons (it helps the shrimps cook more evenly) and also for a more beautiful presentation.
Take a pan and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on it. Grab a handful of pine nuts and put them in the pan, stir on low heat making sure all of the nuts are coated with a thin skin of oil.
Boil about three inches of water in another pot and throw the shrimps into the boiling water for less than 1 minute to allow them to be partially cooked. Drain the water and take the shrimps out of the pot. Transfer them into the pan with the pine nuts and stir as much as you have on low heat.
Remove pan with shrimps from heat. Mix and stir garlic powder and red pepper flakes into reserved melted butter, then drizzle over the shrimps. Spritz the shrimps with juice from ½ a lemon, and garnish with fresh parsley. Alternatively, chives can be chopped into the pan with a pair of scissors for garnish.
After the quinoa has simmered for 12-15 minutes, remove lid and stir. Test quinoa for doneness. You’ll know quinoa is done when it’s completely soft but still ‘pops’ a bit when eaten and about half the beads have opened into little spirals. The quinoa should have absorbed nearly all of the liquid at this point, but it will continue to absorb moisture as it sits.
Once you have a certain fluffiness to the quinoa, you can then chop sun-dried tomatoes and throw them into the quinoa. With the flame off, gently mix both the quinoa and the sun dried tomatoes.
Transfer the quinoa to a bowl, then arrange shrimps on top of the quinoa. The shrimps will probably cover the entire top of the dish, so you may have to nestle a few of them into the mixture. Cut chives or parsley over the top for garnish. Serve immediately with extra lemon wedges on the side.
Add a final drizzle of the balsamic vinegar over the salad, and you are ready to eat!
Now everything is ready to be served. Enjoy!
While the cooking was going I made some tostones to dip in a mojo sauce.
And, it goes even better with a glass of Pinot Noir on the side, and of course, good company!
