Shrimp with Edamame Puree

As I often get tired of chicken, I cook a lot of shrimp and scallops. Yeah they are not the cheapest fare but at least it’s fast cooking, delicious eating and somewhat healthy. So I buy the large frozen shrimp from Trader Joes, guess they would be 14-16 count. The lower the count, meaning you get 14-16 per pound I think, the larger the shrimp are. That makes sense since a large piece of meat weighs more. Ok, that’s my mathematical logic for the day.

So the shrimp already come peeled and deveined (I still check for both just in case) and I defrost them in the fridge the night before I cook them. The next day, they just have to be seasoned and cook in less than five minutes.

The edamame puree was one of those inventions out of necessity. Didn’t have any starches on hand so I mashed up shelled edamame. All it needs is seasoning as well and voila, you got dinner.

Serves 2

14-16 large shrimp

1 ½ cups of shelled edamame (just the bean part)

½ cup of chicken stock

1 teaspoon of sweet paprika

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

2 teaspoons of olive oil

half a lemon

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry and season with half the salt, half the pepper and all the paprika. Place in the hot pan and sauté for roughly a minute and a half per side. While the shrimp are sautéing, put the edamame in a blender or food processor with the chicken stock, remaining salt and pepper and blend until combined. Check for seasonings and adjust if necessary.

Before removing the cooked shrimp from the skillet, squeeze the lemon over the shrimp. Shake the pan a few times so the shrimp get coated with the lemon juice. Serve the shrimp alongside the edamame puree.