One of the classic tastes of summer to me is the lobster roll - it brings back memories of vacations in Maine with the delicious treats sold everywhere from sea side stands. The taste of fresh lobster. the surf. The gulls. The sound of mom screaming at me as I spat the lobster out . . . Happy memories (and I certainly aquired a taste for lobster later in life. *smile)
When I saw this recipe in an e-mail from the folks at Fine Cooking I thought 'hmmm, shrimp instead of lobster?'
I checked the freezer and I had 7 bags of shrimp there. There was no lobster. My 'taste of summer' over the weeknd was going to be a shrimp roll!
Paul whipped these up on Sunday and declared the recipe 'easy' - always a good sign. Some of the reviewers on line felt that the tarragon overpowered the other ingredients. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. We both thought that these were amazing as is.
You can use a roll or hot dog bun, but we felt the need to rock the New England-style split top hot dog buns with the flat sides like they use out east on lobster rolls. Butter up the sides. Quickly crisp them on a skillet and toss together shrimp salad. This is about as easy as it gets folks. Summer in a bun . . .
Shrimp Roll with Tarragon and Chives
Kosher salt
2 lb. large shrimp (31 to 40 per lb.), preferably easy-peel
3/4 cup finely chopped celery with leaves
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
6 hot dog rolls, preferably New England-style split-top rolls
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until bright pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes.the water needn't return to a boil. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Shell the shrimp, devein if necessary, and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, stir the celery, mayonnaise, chives, tarragon, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Stir in the shrimp and season to taste with more lemon, salt, and pepper.
Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler to high. Toast both outside surfaces of the rolls under the broiler, about 1 minute per side. Spoon the shrimp salad into the rolls, using about 2/3 cup per roll, and serve.
I was wondering how I could keep it local since there are no lobsters in BC. Our spot prawns would work and so would crab. And yes to the tarragon.
Posted by: bellini | July 25, 2012 at 09:33 PM
YUM - both would be amazing bellini!
Posted by: JDeQ | July 29, 2012 at 03:07 PM