Warm salad of artichoke and shrimp

Did you know that shrimp and artichokes go really well together?  I didn't.


I was leafing through my copy of The Flavor Bible*, and when I saw "shrimp" listed under artichoke's flavor affinities, I sort of raised an eyebrow, said, "Really?", and leafed on.


A few days later, some (giant) fresh artichokes found their way into my grocery shopping cart (maybe because they were on super special for 99 cents each!), and I found myself again looking through this month's issue of Fine Cooking, which had a feature on fresh artichokes.

Guess what?  They had a dish with artichokes and shrimp.  Coincidence?  Whatever it was, I decided to give it a try.

Although their recipe calls for fresh artichoke bottoms, I think that it could be made successfully with frozen ones, if that's all you can get a hold of.  Also, some people think that fresh artichokes are a bit fussy to prepare, so I fiddled with the recipe and used jarred artichokes for half, and fresh artichokes for the other half.  That worked just fine; in fact I think I will end up making this dish more frequently with ready-to-use artichokes, because then we can have it any time of the year, and I won't have to wait for another super special artichoke sale.

My six-year-old was a little bit suspicious of the artichokes on his plate.  He has had them before, but is always a bit leery of them, probably because they look sort of odd.  I advised him to make sure that each forkful had a bit of shrimp, a bit of artichoke, and a bit of 'the crunchies'.  The smart boy took my advice and ended up LOVING his meal. 


Can you imagine a six-year-old heartily eating artichokes?  A dinner-portion size of artichokes?  And finishing it all? 

I'm sorry for doubting you, Flavor Bible ... you were right all along:  

shrimp ♥ artichoke.

*I think this book is a great resource for pretty much anyone who likes to cook, and particularly for those who enjoy experimenting and creating their own recipes. 

Warm Salad of Artichoke and Shrimp

Inspired by Fine Cooking, April/May 2010

Prepare 'the crunchies' (i.e., the breadcrumbs)
 Heat in a 10” skillet over medium heat:
  1 ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Add:
  ¼ tsp dried thyme
  1 clove garlic, minced


Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Then add:
  ¾ cups panko or coarse breadcrumbs

Stir this constantly until the breadcrumbs are toasted to a nice, crisp golden brown.  Set aside.


Prepare the artichokes
If using fresh artichokes, you will need:
  6 large artichoke bottoms, boiled until tender 
    in 4 cups of water and 2 Tbsp salt


If using ready-to-use artichokes, you will need:
  2 cups artichokes, cut into large-bite-size pieces


(I think that frozen, jarred or canned artichokes will work, but probably not the marinated ones)


Preheat the oven to 400°F


Prepare the shrimp
Toss together in a large bowl:
  1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  pinch cayenne
  ¼ tsp salt

Heat a 10” skillet over high heat and sear the shrimp, 1-2 minutes per side, until the shrimp are just cooked. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.


To the now-empty skillet, add:
  4 Tbsp butter


When the butter has melted and starts to foam, add:
  4 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  3 Tbsp lemon juice


Let this butter mixture heat up for about 2 minutes, then pour it over the shrimp.


Assemble and bake the dish
Grease an 8x10 inch baking dish (spray or brush oil, or brush butter).


If using artichoke bottoms, arrange them stem side down on the dish.  Top each with some shrimp, making sure to drizzle on the melted butter.  Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over each, saving about ¼ cup of the breadcrumbs for later.


If using artichoke pieces, toss the shrimp with the artichokes.  Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the top, saving about ¼ cup of the breadcrumbs for later.


Bake at 400°F in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until heated through.


Serve immediately, making sure to sprinkle more breadcrumbs from the portion that you set aside earlier.

Fresh artichokes, at various stages of undress