Roman style shrimp

For lunch today, I decided to try out the following recipe from: http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/recipe-of-the-day-shrimp-roman-style/. I found it on Mark Bittman's blog on the New York Times. Quick side note: I've been a long-time fan of both the New York Times and Mark Bittman's columns, particularly the Minimalist. If you're looking for quick, easy and sometimes very nice looking dishes, I strongly suggest you check it out.

The ingredients I used were:

• Shrimp (0.6 lbs).
• Tomatoes (3 small).
• Garlic (5 cloves).
• Olive oil (2 tablespoons).
• Crushed dried red chili peppers (more than I should have).

I forgot to buy mint, so I just left it out. Next time, I'll try it with the mint and let you know how it goes. I also used the crushed dried chilis (the kind in a spice container) since I had it lying around and didn't have dried whole chilis. I used an abundant amount, since I prefer things spicy, but it ended up adding way too much heat to the dish, so next time, I wouldn't suggest more than a tablespoon (I probably used ~3 tablespoons).

I followed the instructions and sauteed the garlic and chilis until the garlic began to change color. At this point, I added the tomatoes and allowed them to cook for awhile (~10 minutes) until they became soft.


Afterwards, I added the shrimp and continued cooking (stirring occasionally) until the shrimp became visibly red (and white). I've heard in the past that you shouldn't overcook shrimp, but personally, with the exception of steak, I'd rather overcook than undercook.


At this point, I turned the heat down to "low" and allowed it to simmer. Meanwhile, I prepared some rice (the blog suggests using this as a sauce for pasta, which I can see being a very good idea, but I don't have pasta handy).


The end result turned out to be very delicious. I'll definitely be preparing shrimp in this way again in the future. Combined with minty greens, I can imagine the dish being very handsome.