Zippy Shrimp

I am a bad Norwegian. I don't care for seafood at all and the fact that I recently ate and enjoyed a bowl of salmon chowder is a major milestone. And I try, you guys. I have tried baked fish, roasted fish, smoked fish, raw fish, imitation fish, seafood chowders and soups and even tuna casserole. Nope. Although I admit, there are a few exceptions: fried clam strips, my friend's kick-ass clam chowder, and the occasional tuna sandwich. And I do cook fish and seafood for other people, but the smell generally turns my stomach. And the weird bit? I love to peruse the fish counter at the Asian markets and at Pike Place because I love sea life in all it's multitudinous shapes, species, and colors--I just don't like eating them!

"Zippy" refers to both the speed of the dish and the bite of the red pepper flakes; pretty ingenious, huh?

Ingredients:

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/3 cup light olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic, mashed

2 TBSPS fresh basil, chopped

2 tsps paprika

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Briefly saute the garlic until translucent but be very careful not to burn it. Add the pepper flakes and paprika and cook for about 30 seconds to release the flavor. Gently slide the shrimp in, making sure they're coated in the seasoned oil and then add the fresh lemon juice. Cook for a few minutes longer until the shrimps are pink. Remove from the heat immediately and transfer to a nice serving bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the chopped basil before serving.

Cook's Notes:

1. Have everything prepped and ready to go because this dish is done in like five minutes. Seriously. Once the oil's heated, each ingredient added to the oil only needs a brief cooking time. Garlic burns quickly, spices will lose their flavor, shrimp turns rubber in the blink of an eye.

2. Guys. Lemon juice. Don't ever buy the bottled stuff. Fresh lemon juice contains just fresh lemon juice and maybe a little lemon oil from the peel. Bottled lemon juice contains preservatives (which no one needs). Besides, your hands smell delicious after cutting and squeezing fresh lemons and really, who doesn't want to smell delicious!

3. While you can serve the shrimp as a separate main dish with a starch on the side, you can also add a little heavy cream to make a sauce and toss with the pasta or stir it into the risotto. I've served zippy shrimp skewered with toothpicks as an appetizer for a family dinner I catered for friends and I've also made the dish as a main meal for my previous meal clients several times.