fortification fridays - grilled salsa shrimp

It's barbecue time! We recently enjoyed a variation of a recipe we frequently use for grilled shrimp, based on the Cook's Illustrated recipe that appeared in the magazine in 2006. Since we grill vegetables at the same time we grill our main course, we thought we'd combine them in this delicious, lemony, buttery, garlicky sauce. It uses the ingredients in salsa, but is really nothing like fresh salsa. Use jumbo shrimp (16-20 count), the freshest you can find. The recipe below is for a standard charcoal grill (Weber kettle, to be precise), and I'm assuming you have some grill knowledge. See Cook's Illlustrated if you need to adapt the recipe to a gas grill, since I don't have one.

Kitchen needs: charcoal grill, chimney starter
Serves: 4-6 as a main dish



Grilled Salsa Shrimp

2 lbs. raw jumbo shrimp (16-20 count), shelled but with the tail on
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (or paprika, if they are too hot for you)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. butter
1 large lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
about 2 dozen cherry tomatoes
1 green pepper (or pasilla pepper, or red pepper)
cilantro

Heat coals in a chimney starter, then prepare the shrimp skewers and marinade. The shrimp should be shelled and with the tail still on. Place them on the skewers so they are fitted rather tightly into one another, then brush with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Skewer the tomatoes, too, and seed and cut the pepper into quarters.

In a large aluminum (disposable) pan, combine red pepper flakes, minced garlic, lemon juice and butter.

When the coals are ready, pile them all on one half of the grill to create a two-level fire. Don't forget to lightly oil the grilling surface. On the "hot" side of the grill, place aluminum pan to melt the butter and cook the garlic a bit. Move to the "cold" side or take off the grill after garlic is golden. Place the shrimp and tomato skewers on the hot side of the grill, and the peppers where they will get charred. Flip shrimp when opaque, about 2/3 of the way through. Flip tomatoes several times so they don't completely burn, but some charring is ok. Turn peppers, too. This procedure will be quite quick from start to finish.

When shrimp is cooked through and tomatoes are charred a bit, add both to aluminum pan, and cook in sauce over "hot" side for a few minutes. Remove peppers and chop into little pieces; add to sauce. Immediately prior to serving, add chopped cilantro, a few more squeezes of lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

If you have another vegetable side dish, the original recipe (see shrimp in green bowl) is also nice. Just substitute cilantro for parsley and use the same marinade.