Tuesday Night Supper Club-Indian Spiced Shrimp and Pork Belly Corn Salad

i have been looking for ways 

to use

the bounty from the garden

we have more zucchini

than....

well

we have a lot of zucchini

tonight's shrimp dish

is indian in nature

and the 

corn salad

is a bit vietnamese

both are easy

and can be put together quickly

Indian Spiced Shrimp
(printable recipe)

1 lb raw peeled and devined shrimp

olive oil

1/2 red bell pepper--thinly julienned

1 large clove garlic--finely minced

1" fresh ginger--finely minced

2 small red thai-bird chilis--finely minced

1/4 cup onion or shallot--finely minced

1 cup zucchini in 1/2" dice

1 generous Tablespoon tomato paste

3/4-1 cup water

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

Spice Mixture

2 tsp cumin seed--toasted and ground

2 Tbs coriander seed--toasted and ground

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

pour enough olive oil on the bottom of a skillet to just cover.  add the zucchini, garlic, thai-bird chili, ginger and onion. cook for about 5 minutes...you want to really smell the aroma, but you don't want the garlic to burn.  if it starts to get too hot, add a bit of water to slow down the cooking. add the red bell pepper and the spice mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes.  mix in the tomato paste until everything is coated, then add in the shrimp.  let the shrimp get good and coated, then add about 3/4 cup water at first.  stir until a nice sauce begins to form.  cook until the shrimp is cooked through...about 10 minutes or so.  add more water if the sauce gets too thick.  check for salt and pepper.  sprinkle the lemon zest on top and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over.  give 1 more stir and then you are done.

Pork Belly Corn Salad
(printable recipe)

2 ears of corn--cooked and kernels cut from the cob

2 green onions--finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper--finely chopped

4" of pork belly--cooked--then sliced and pan fried*

6 chives--finely minced

2 Tbs fish sauce

1 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp black pepper

mix everything together and serve warm, chilled or room temperature

*for my pork belly..i marinated it overnight in root beer.  i then cooked it in a roasting dish at 325 sitting on top of green apples...with a splash of soy sauce and a generous sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. i let it just cook and cook and cook for about 5 or 6 hours.  i then keep it in the freezer for moments like these!

you might have noticed

that i had a little yogurt dip

to help squelch the spicy bite of the cayenne

this is just 

1 cup of non-fat greek yogurt

1 scallion--finely chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

and a few Tbs of chopped fresh mint

mix it all up and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving

EAT UP!!
i am linking up to my own linky..
tuesday night supper club
i hope to see you and your recipes there!

I am also linking up to Two for Tuesday's
blog hop which is pretty great too!

Tuesday Night Supper Club

I've started a Supper Club. A Supper Club of 1.
In an attempt to get out of the rut of my basic standby meals, I am going to try a new recipe on Tuesdays.
Most of the recipes will be what I can put together with items from the larder (don't you just love that word?) The first time I ever heard it used in every day language was when staying in a hotel in Kirkland, Washington called The Woodmark.  They had this evening event called "raid the larder." It was a great take on the midnight snack.
The only other time I raided the "larder" in a hotel, was in Spain or maybe Portugal and I was in college.  But for clarification, I didn't actually go into the kitchen, I did however, participate in eating what was procured. This event was not sanctioned by the UN nor the hotel itself.  The daring participants accessed the kitchen and "borrowed" large tubs of  ice cream and a big wheel of cheese.  Mind you, this was well over 20 years ago, so don't hold me to the details.  What I do remember however is that we collectively finished off all the ice cream in the place....and then littered the evidence.  If I reveal any more, it might become an international incident, and I'm not one to get my fellow students in trouble.
Again, I was a bystander
...a bystander with a spoon.

So for my first Tuesday Night Supper Club meal I made risotto.

Risotto with Shrimp and Tomatoes

Serves 2 as a main course

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp unsalted butter

8-10 nice size shrimp--raw

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 cup carnaroli or arborio rice

2 oz sweet vermouth *

4-5 cups chicken broth--bring to a simmer on the stove

2 Tbs chopped chives

6-7 basil leaves--chiffonade

lots of pepper to taste

salt to taste

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1-3 Tbs cream **

Heat a high sided skillet over medium heat.  Meanwhile, peel and clean shrimp. Mine were frozen so I popped them into my chicken broth (which I also had in the freezer) to defrost but not cook.   Add olive oil to the hot pan and quickly stir fry the shrimp.  It is best to slightly undercook them at this point.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Add butter to pan and a bit more oil if it seems it needs it.  Toss in the shallots and cook until just translucent, do not brown.  Butter may brown a bit, but that is okay.  Toss in the rice and stir to completely coat in the fats.  Don't move too fast.  While you don't want to toast the rice to brown, you want to warm it up.  

Now the fun begins.  Let me start by saying...risotto shouldn't take you all day to make.  When making this recipe, I had it on the table in 20 minutes.

Pour in the vermouth*.  Stir with a wooden spoon..don't know if this is essential, but I have such great luck with a wooden spoon that I am passing that it on.  Make sure your fire isn't too high. It should be between low and medium.  Stir until the vermouth is almost gone. You want the liquid to be minimal, but not completely dry before you start to add the broth.  Be sure your broth is hot.  Begin adding it to the rice about a cup at a time.  Add the broth, stir until the rice is evenly spread in the pan and is beginning to absorb.  Then stir a bit more.  Then give it a minute by itself.  Then stir again.  Then give it a minute, then stir.  Once you see it getting tight, add more broth...and start the procedure all over again. After the second addition of broth, add the chives and tomatoes.  The stirring process gives you a bit of a gravy.  You know it is done when you take a bite and find the rice firm but not hard.  It should not be crunchy at all, but it shouldn't mush in your mouth.  Once it is done, add the cream**.  Stir to incorporate and then add the basil and parmesan cheese. Check for salt and pepper. Stir in the shrimp and let heat all the way through.  Serve and enjoy!

* I used sweet vermouth because I thought it would work nicely with the shrimp.  But you can use dry vermouth or white wine.  

**addition of cream is just a decadence that isn't essential.  Skip it if you want.

Also...I admit I do something with my risotto that isn't in any book...but it works for me.  When I see that the risotto is getting close--just the center is al dente, I add about a 1/4 of a cup of broth and stir once and walk away.  It can sit that way for 10 minutes or more.  Once I am ready to serve and plate, I fire up the burner again, add a bit more broth and finish the dish.

ps. you might see pearl onions in my photo. I added them to the broth and then threw them into the dish for fun.  Didn't love em...but if you wanted to roast them and add them, I think it would be delicious.

Email me if you want to be a guest host of the Tuesday Night Supper Club. I would love to hear what you do faced with a stove and a handful of ingredients.  I would especially love to know if you try a supper club dish and what you thought.

Eat up...