We began our day at the local French market, heading straight to the fish stand. We’re always on the lookout for fresh finds. This time, we spotted huge pre-cooked shrimp. I’ve often seen these precooked head-on, shell-on shrimp at the market and wondered about the best way to use them. Instead of shrimp scampi or grilled shrimp, we thought we should try out the French classic from Matt Hranek at WM Brown, shrimp flambé.
Back at home, we made a simple mix of chopped garlic, fresh parsley, and olive oil. Next, we added Pernod, a French anise liquor, to the shrimp after having briefly sautéed it in oil. With a lighter, we set the shrimp on fire to flambé them and cook off the alcohol from the Pernod.
To finish, we mixed in our garlic-parsley blend. We served the shrimp with crispy fries, warm crusty bread, salted butter, and a cold glass of rosé. It was a perfect French-style weekend lunch!
Shrimp Flambé
Ingredients
- A generous portion of precooked, head-on, shell-on shrimp
- A splash of neutral oil
- Several cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- A good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- A drizzle of olive oil
- A decent glug of Pernod, or any anise-flavored liqueur
Instructions
- Finely chop several cloves of garlic and a good handful of fresh parsley. Mix these together in a bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Put this mixture to one side.
- Take a large skillet and place it over a medium-high heat. Add a splash of neutral oil and let it get nice and hot.
- Toss in a good amount of precooked shrimp into the sizzling skillet. Let them just start to warm through.
- Add a splash of Pernod to the shrimp. Then carefully light the Pernod.
- Once the flames have disappeared, add your garlic-parsley mixture to the skillet. Give everything a good toss to ensure the shrimp are well coated.