Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Vindaloo shrimp with couscous and caramelized broccoli



Vindaloo…who knew? An Indian spice, it can pack a punch depending on the amount of curry you incorporate. We have Savory Spice Shop here in Denver, a source for practically anything you can imagine. They make dozens of custom blends, including vindaloo. It has 13 ingredients – all contributing in the end to a warm and fuzzy flavor. It was a little hot when made into a paste, but I didn’t use all that much and on the shrimp it was fabulous.

I bought a packaged “instant” couscous at Whole Foods yesterday. Sounded like a good idea – so so in the end. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to give a recipe, I just followed what the box said.

Vindaloo shrimp with couscous and caramelized broccoli
vindaloo paste*
10 oz. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
small crown of broccoli, trimmed and cut into smallish pieces.
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

*Combine equal amounts vindaloo powder, water and oil. Stir into a paste. For this amount of shrimp I found that 1 ½ tsp of each was perfect.

Heat 2 saute pans with 1 tbsp each of butter and oil. The one for the broccoli should be on medium high heat, for the shrimp, medium heat.

A word about the broccoli: I always use the stem; cut off the outside skin and cut the core into ½” pieces.
When the pan is hot drop in the broccoli. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper (to taste). Toss often with tongs until the broccoli begins to brown. Reduce heat to medium and cook for a couple of minutes. Take the pan off the heat and set aside.

Cook the shrimp simultaneously with the broccoli. Sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper right when you put them in the pan. When the bottom half has turned opaque, turn the shrimp and stir in the vindaloo paste. When the second side is near complete opacity, remove the shrimp from the heat. The length of time it takes to cook shrimp is entirely dependent on their size. Just eyeball them, turn them promptly when the time comes, and snatch them off the stove the instant the second side is done.

2 comments:

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

This sounds so good Steven! I've never heard of vindaloo seasonings but it sure looks good. Where is this spice store in Denver? I'm about 100 miles south of you in Colo Spgs, next time I'm up in Denver I'll swing by this spice store & get some treats :)

Unknown said...

This all sounds and looks so good! I wonder if I can find the vindaloo seasoning elsewhere? Or...do you think the spice store has an online store??? Caramelized broccoli...now why didn't I think of that??

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