Three for Me!

Spiedini di Gamberi Piccante con Zucchine e Finocchio di Mare

Spicy Shrimp Skewers with Zucchini & Samphire

 Yes, it is a silly title I'll agree- but I had 3 of these little beauties rustled-up in no time this evening... and they certainly were good! And by the way, once again- these are close-up shots and these portions are not gigantic!

I bought the "Samphire" or "Salicorn" at the indoor market and basically just wanted to try a new ingredient out. It is rather salty, which means that you don't need to season it usually, and it is cooked in next to no time- more good reasons to give it a go!

I cut the zucchini into very fine slices and sautéed them with a little finely chopped garlic, then added the samphire which I had washed thoroughly beforehand. One thing you need to do is to trim away the "woody" ends of the samphire- this just makes for a much more enjoyable result!

I seasoned with a little freshly, coarsely-ground black pepper and grated a little fresh ginger onto it to give it a more complex flavor. 

The shrimps were skewered together and in this case, fried in a frying pan- although grilling would also be a great idea. I used olive oil for this, which may not be the best oil for frying, but I wanted to keep the flavors nice and Mediterranean. The shrimp were already pink that I bought- meaning that they were par-boiled beforehand and therefore would only need a quick blast in the pan to finish them off!

I seasoned them with salt, pepper, chili flakes, finely chopped garlic, parsley and gave them a quick minute and a half at a high heat. I deglazed the pan with a splash of vodka (hic!), added a tiny squeeze of honey, tossed everything together with a little squirt of lemon juice and served with the zucchini and samphire and a light squeeze of lemon! Simply delicious!