Firstly, I would like to add a disclaimer that Kristy from Eat, Play, Love Our Family Food Adventures is not paying me to blog about her recipes (unless she wants to, of course ;-)). It’s just that there are some recipes that click for me, and her choices are often those kinds of recipes. Recently she and the kids made a Piri Piri Shrimp, in a post called Heating Things Up that really caught my interest for a few reasons: garlic and lemon juice, heat and shrimp! Of course, JT and I are still on the low carb, sugar, fat diet for another day or so I’ve had to modify the recipe (not that it wasn’t unhealthy to begin with, it just did not fit the chemical profile we are restricted to). So Kristy, I hope you don’t mind, but I did change it up a touch, hopefully not altering the recipe’s taste. Thanks again for a another flavourful dinner (and incredible lunch the next day!).
Piri Piri Shrimp My Way
Serves 3 (dinner and 1 lunch, each 100 g protein)
Ingredients:
- 1-2 Serrano chiles
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/3 cup low sodium vegetable stock (I used vegetable stock as it is slightly sweeter than chicken stock, because I replaced the wine vinegar with white vinegar)
- hand full of roughly chopped parsley
- hand full of roughly chopped cilantro
- 300 g (10.5 oz) uncooked, deveined, and peeled shrimp
- lemon wedges (oops, I forgot)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven on high broil. Cut the chile peppers in half (don’t bother removing the seeds and stems, they come off easily after roasting). Place the chiles on a lightly sprayed (with fat free cooking spray) baking sheet and roast until blackened, Kristy says about 10 minutes (I didn’t time it).
- Trim the stems and remove the seeds (the seeds are the really hot bits)
- In your immersion blender container, combine the chiles, garlic, paprika, lemon juice, vinegar, vegetable stock, parsley and cilantro and purée the ingredients until smooth.
- Pour 1/4 of the marinade over the shrimp, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours (see note).
- Heat a large cast iron grill pan on the BBQ (had to involve JT in the cooking, you know how it is). Spray lightly with fat free cooking spray and when hot enough, cook shrimp until done (pink both sides).
- Serve over greens with a few sweet red peppers drizzled with a bit more of the sauce (but reserve the remainder of the sauce because I have a GREAT IDEA for it for Saturday!)
Notes:
- Citrus can cook seafood quite easily (ceviche is based on this) so if you do leave the shrimp marinading for more than a few hours, check it to see if it’s cooking (starting to turn pink). Otherwise you may end up with rubbery shrimp.
- The Piri Piri sauce was INCREDIBLE — perfect for my taste, JT said it was OK, but perhaps he was just uninspired because the shrimp was served on greens (I live on greens so it was second nature to me) next time, I’ll serve his on Quinoa or Whole Wheat Couscous.
- Roasting the peppers did not minimize the heat, so beware. I adore it and JT found it tolerable, but it could be too hot for some.
- You may wish to add a teaspoon of agave nectar (or some red pepper coulis) to help subdue the heat, I did for JTs dressing but not for mine.
- The sauce is definitely better the next day so you may wish to make it up in advance and let it sit. I used this sauce in a dish I prepared last Saturday for Cinco de Mayo.
Great dish Eva! Love your section with the tips at the end of your post. Who knew that agave could help cut through the spiciness? I love spicy foods but often find it overwhelming after a few bites. Great tip to help me enjoy more spicy foods!
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I too enjoy reading Kristy’s blog and am always amazed at the quality time she spends with her kids. Yes, remember the shrimp dish, would be much too spicy for me will have to tone it waaaaay down.
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Hi Eva! So sorry it took me so long to get here. I actually read this a few days ago, but have been swamped with work. I’m so glad that you enjoyed this and thank you so much for showcasing one of our recipes again. I should start paying you! 🙂 And again, I’m definitely looking forward to trying this one with the smoked paprika. You sold me on that stuff! 🙂 Hope you’re having a great weekend Eva. Cheers!
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Ah well, she does make some great looking things, so it’s no surprise you want to eat them yourself! Capital letters “AMAZING”, huh? Ok, now you make me want to try this piri piri sauce too, lol 😀
Must try and see if I can get all the ingredients 🙂
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I think it’s the lemon, garlic and the smoked paprika that always gets me, just love the flavours. Let me know if you end up trying it, Charles, and if you like it.
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That dish is so colourful and full of flavour and good for you! It really does tick all the boxes. Beautiful presentation Eva. And Kristy has a lovely blog doesn’t she. I love how she lets her children be involved in the kitchen. I always found that rather challenging! xx
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Thank you kindly, Charlie. Yes, I do love that about Kristy’s blog, involving her children; it reminds me of my dear Mom—she always had something for us to do in the preparation of dinner. It’s no wonder that both my brother and I love to cook, and feed people!
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Those shrimp look amazing. Kristy could pay me… oh kidding. She wouldn’t have to.
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True Greg, Kristy and Mike do have some yummy dishes on their blog, for sure!
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Haha, loved the disclaimer! 🙂 – Kristy must be flattered indeed. Your version looks delicious Eva and I like the idea of serving it with a little quinoa (and greens ;-)), that way you get to sop up the juices and maximize on your lovely ingredient choices.
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So true, Kelly; I do miss sopping up the juices with some crusty bread, yes I do miss that! It’s a flavourful dish with a wonderful blend of tastes and textures.
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Sounds like lots of bright and delicious flavors!
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Thanks Bill, it was that indeed, and more.
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All these great recipes featuring shrimp are making me crazy! I love shrimp and my husband won’t eat them…had too many as a child growing up in Florida. I may have to make some just for me! I love the heat you have here to go with the sweet of the shrimp.
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Thanks Betsy, I love the fresh lively flavours of the citrus with the shrimp – really yummy! I’m very fortunate, my hubby will eat almost anything!
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The piri piri sauce does sound interesting. And, of course, I love shrimp in ANY form.
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I am glad that I got it with this one Maria! I hope you check out Kristy’s blog, her sauce has a bit of oil in it that smooths out the sour taste of the citrus.
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by the look of those amazing shrimp its your way or the highway!~ I love how you put your own spin on this dish! AMAZING
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Thank you kindly Jessica! What a lovely thing to say. It was quite flavourful!
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This looks like another light and delicious meal! Your diet sounds complicated and quite restrictive. I have never managed to carry on with diets excluding some food products (I would crave the excluded ones all the time!). I admire you! Good luck!
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It’s not complicated, Sissi. There is a list of foods that you are allowed to have, and a list that you are not allowed. I stick to the the allowed list and I lose weight. I like to jazz things up and I can can blog about them!
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Hi Eva, you need to remove the membranes as well as the seeds from chillies to reduce the heat. I like all the flavors in these shrimp. Serving them on greens is a nice choice in warm weather. I look forward to your next recipe using the marinade.
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Thanks Sharyn, you are indeed correct regarding the membranes they are a source of heat too! I must remember not to touch my eyes after I deal with hot peppers!
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I, too, enjoy Kristy’s blog and remember her posting the original recipe. I would probably substitute jalapeños for the Serranos, though. I love the taste of chilis but I’m probably closer to JT’s level of heat tolerance than yours, I’m afraid, Eva. Still, this dish seems too good to pass up. (Love the bowl, by the way.)
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Thanks John, I really do like the heat, that’s for sure! Thank you for the compliment on the bowl, it was a cast off from our studio.
PS thanks for posting the recipe for Feta, I will surely try my hand at it. Your tips are going to be a life saver, I can feel it.
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Pass the piri piri please. No really… I am hungry now and it is still morning. Stuck in traffic in Ottawa. Did you say Kristy is paying you? I must speak with her….
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Hahaha! No sadly she’s not paying me, but in all honesty she doesn’t have to; some recipes hit you where it counts, and some of her recipes do just that! And even if they have ingredients I can’t have, they are usually easy to adapt! This one is rather tasty, but its complexity is likely more than your girls might like.
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I like this recipe quite a bit 🙂
It’s healthy, filled with flavour and stays as a light dinner 🙂
Thanks for sharing for the seafoodies of my family!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thanks CCU, the shrimp was very tasty and flavourful indeed. The sauce keeps for a week in the refrigerator.
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