Roasted Shrimp with Herb Sauce (Kopie)

*****
Makes: 4 Servings

Time: 30 minutes

Try making this on a weeknight; it’s perfect with rice, pasta, or good chewy bread since the sauce is so addictive. It also makes a hard-to-beat party recipe, with the shrimp served on toothpicks for dipping.

Other seafood you can use: similar-sized scallops (or larger, though they’ll take longer to cook); crawfish, peeled or not; mussels or clams.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 scallions, roughly chopped
1 small bunch fresh parsley (thin stems are okay; discard thick ones)
2 pounds shrimp, 20 to 30 per pound, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup shrimp, fish, or chicken stock, white wine, or water

1. Heat the oven to 500°F. Combine the garlic and oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the scallions and parsley and pulse until the mixture is minced. Toss this mixture with the shrimp and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Put the shrimp in a roasting pan that will hold them comfortably in one layer. Add the liquid and put the pan in the oven. Roast, stirring once, until the mixture is bubbly and hot and the shrimp are all pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

For Roasted Shrimp with Mint Sauce: Use all mint or half mint and half parsley.

For Spicy and Garlicky Roasted Shrimp: Triple the amount of garlic and add it, along with 4 small dried chiles (like Thai) or a few pinches of hot red pepper flakes, or to taste, to the mixture in the food processor in Step 1.

For Roasted Shrimp in Herb Sauce, Indian Style: Substitute cilantro for the parsley. Add 1 tablespoon curry powder to the mixture in the food processor in Step 1.