Roasted Shrimp with Blood Oranges and Fennel

  It's fun to take advantage of snowy days, stay inside and try out some new dinner recipes.  I  picked up a bag of Costco's deveined tail-on raw shrimp last week and had them in the freezer.  They are perfect for Ina's Roasted Shrimp Cocktail recipe, but today I thought I would try to create a new version of her recipe. I wanted to make something pretty, so I went to our local Fresh Market and bought blood oranges and fresh fennel.

 

  I began by covering a sheet pan with aluminum foil and laying a bed of thinly sliced fennel and blood oranges on the bottom.  Then I placed the thawed shrimp evenly on the top and drizzled the entire layer with the following vinaigrette-

1/2 cup blood orange juice
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. kosher salt
3 T. olive oil

Measure, shake and blend the four ingredients. 

After drizzling with the vinaigrette, I drizzled about 2 tablespoons of melted butter on the shrimp, just to add a little richness to the sauce. 

Sprinkled  a lite coating of sea salt and freshly ground pepper over the top. 

Then into a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes.

To plate them, a bed of the fennel and blood oranges was arranged  on the bottom of the bowl and  the shrimp placed  on top.  Then  drizzle some of the cooking liquid over the top and garnish with fennel fronds.

 

It was  good and  healthy too-- except for that little bit of good old butter! Next time, I might try caramelizing the fennel first before roasting it.  I think it might develop a bit  more flavor.

 

I had been saving Martha Stewart's  November issue of Living to try one of the appetizer recipes. 

It was so simple, a package of thawed puff pastry rolled out and cut into squares. Brush the top of the pastry with olive oil and layer on various toppings.  I used variations of what she suggested, based on what I had on hand. 

 

 

A purple majesty potato sliced very thin and topped with fresh thyme and a citrus rosemary sea salt.
                                    A little dollop of sour cream when out of the oven.
                                     ( Martha used a fingerling potato and fresh sage)

 

a.Fresh blood orange thinly sliced with sea salt, then drizzled with honey when out of the oven.

 

b.A mixture of Italian cheeses, prosciutto and diced mango.

 

c. the purple potato on the end

 

Into a 375 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes.

 

They were crispy and delicious.  Martha called for sliced the pastry into 4 inch squares, but I opted for 2 inch squares.  My husband particularly liked the potato ones- next time I will put 2 to 3 slices of potato on each one. 

 

 

With a small green salad, these were the perfect accompaniment to the shrimp. This is a simple recipe that is easy to adapt to what you have on hand.  Another "good thing" from Martha!