seared shrimp with beans and quinoa

 

I FINALLY got into the Rancho Gordo bean club. It took 3 years. I'm not going to even bother expressing my excitement, I will let the slew of bean recipes I post moving forward speak for themselves. My first quarterly box arrived with 6 kinds of pulses, one I'd never heard of before: Good Mother Stallard, which turns out to be THE bean of beans: Firm skin, creamy interior, a broth you can drink on its own...what more is there to say??

look how pretty the dried ones are

I pressure cooked one cup of these dry beauties in the instant pot with some aromatics for 30 min, did a natural release, and they were perfect. I tried some just in the broth, which was astonishingly full of flavor and had none of that typical "beany" flavor. Then I simply threw the rest in with some quinoa, blistered corn and seared shrimp. Salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Dinner. 

I'll never get over this bean, don't hesitate if they're in stock. 

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa

• 2 cups broth of your choosing, I used 1 cup bean broth and 1 cup chicken broth

• about a pound of shrimp, shelled and deveined

• spice blend of your choosing for searing shrimp, salt and pepper is fine. I use my own veg roasting blend: chipotle, black pepper, paprika, cumin.

• 1½ cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh

• ¼ red onion, sliced thinly and rinsed in cold water

• handful of parsley and/or cilantro, chopped

• 1-2 tbsp good olive oil

• juice from 1 lemon

For Serving:

• Extra virgin olive oil, for topping

• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Toast quinoa in a pot for 1 min, stirring constantly. Then pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to simmer for 15 min. Let stand for 3 min and then fluff with fork.

2. Toss shrimp in spice blend while you heat a pan on high flame. Add a little veg oil and sear shrimp no longer than 2 min on each side and set aside. 

3. Add another splash of oil and add the corn kernels, flattening them into one layer. Do not touch until one pops, then stir, and wait for a pop again. Once you have the color you want on the corn, add them to the quinoa.

4. Add shrimp and the juices, chopped parsley and/or cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, and red onion. Salt and pepper to taste.

so JUICY, so PLUMP

Nothing says summer to me like packing a little bean salad up with a picnic blanket and a book, picking up a bottle of dry rosé at Dry Dock, and heading to the water to read until the sun goes down.

let summer finally begin