Spicy MEDITERRANEAN shrimp

My family used to go to this small Greek and Mediterranean restaurant in center city Philadelphia when I was a kid! Every time we went the there was two things that I absolutely had to order. The first being their spicy shrimp and the second a side of bread. The shrimp would come out to the table in a little ramekin sizzling in spicy, garlicky and lemony oil. I would sit their and sop the bread full of the hot oil and devour the shrimp! Maybe that’s why I was/am a fat kid, or at least a fat kid at heart! Needless to say I forgot about this dish until recently when I got home from work and realized I hadn’t gone shopping in almost two weeks and all I had was pasta, olive oil, garlic and lemon. I of course made pasta ale olio de peperoncino! That flavor combination brought me right back to that restaurant and well after messing around with the recipe for 3 days straight. Here it is:

ingredients:

1lbs shrimp de-vaned

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp gochugaru (sweet pepper flakes, can be omitted)

lemon zest (1 tbsp, or about a lemons worth)

Juice of 2-3 lemons (1/4th cup)

Olive oil

Parsley

method:

Place a 12ish inch pan, not non stick, onto you highest heat and allow to heat for 3-5 min or until ripping hot. Then drizzle in 2 tbsp of olive oil. The oil should send of a wisp of smoke. Then add in batches your shrimp and fry for 30 seconds a side. The shrimp should turn pink but should look like a “C” not an “O”. Do not over crowed your pan!! Remove them from the heat and place on your serving dish.

Once all of your shrimp are fried add 3 more tablespoons of olive oil to your pan and reduce your heat to medium low. Once your oil is hot add your garlic and sauté until slightly fragrant. Turn off the heat and add your pepper flakes and zest. Stir to combine. Then add your lemon juice and stir to combine.

To plate arrange your shrimp onto the plate add some slices of lemon, and spoon over your oil and lemon juice mixture. Top with some parsley and serve while it’s hot!!