Fresh Shrimp and Black Eyed Pea Salad

Salada de Feijão Fradinhocom CamarãoThe cosmopolitan city of São Paulo with its dazzling architecture, vibrant street life, and art museums is also home to some of Brazil’s most exciting cuisine. Restaurants serve the traditional as well as the new cuisine of some of South America’s rising culinary stars. This recipe, usually prepared with dried cod or dried shrimp, is a favorite in São Paulo. This version uses fresh shrimp instead of dried, but the results are just as authentic and the taste is, too.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 pound fresh large or fully thawed frozen shrimp
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 pound black-eyed peas
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 cup bottled all-natural clam juice
• 1 small red onion
• 1 medium-size red bell pepper
• 8 to 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 5 to 6 large lettuce leaves, romaine or green or red leaf
• 1 lime

On your mark, get set . . .
• Carefully peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Discard the shells.

• Remove the vein along the back of the shrimp. To do this, lay the shrimp on a cutting board, then using a paring knife, make a slight cut about ¼ inch deep, starting at the widest end, or the top, of the shrimp. As you cut, you will see a black vein. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water, and pull out and discard the vein. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp.

• Place the shrimp in a large bowl and add ½ teaspoon of the salt and the cold water. Toss the shrimp with a spoon a few times to help dissolve the salt and then refrigerate.

Cook!
• In a medium saucepan, combine the black-eyed peas and enough water to cover them by about 1 inch.

• Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 1 minute.

• Remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let soak for 1 hour.

• Peel the yellow onion, cut in half, and set aside.

• Drain the soaked black-eyed peas and return them to the pan. Add the clam juice and the onion halves and enough fresh water to cover by 1 inch.

• Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the peas are tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

• During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add ½ teaspoon of salt.

• Drain the black-eyed peas and remove the onion halves. Rinse the black-eyed peas under cold running water, drain again, and let cool completely.

• In the meantime, peel the red onion, cut into small chunks, measure ¾ cup, and set aside.

• Wash the bell pepper and cut out the stem at the top.

• Slice the pepper in half and remove the seeds and white membrane.

• Cut the pepper into thin slices, then cut the slices into small squares, measure 1 cup, and set aside.

• Wash the parsley, shaking off any excess water. Remove the stems, roughly chop the leaves, measure ¼ cup, and set aside.

• Slightly crush the garlic by laying the flat side of a chef’s knife on the clove and pressing evenly to break open the skin. Remove the skin and the root end, chop the garlic, and set aside.

• Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and drain well, shaking the colander to remove excess water.

• Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat for 30 to 40 seconds.

• Add the chopped red onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.

• Add the garlic and bell pepper and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

• Add the drained shrimp, vinegar, the remaining teaspoon of salt, and the parsley and sauté until the shrimp turn bright pink and are tender and just cooked, about 2 to 3 minutes.

• Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

• Combine the drained peas and sautéed shrimp in a large bowl. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

• Wash the lettuce leaves, shake off the excess water, drain, then pat them dry with a paper towel. Tear the leaves into medium-size pieces.

• Cut the lime into thin slices.

• Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter, then spoon on the chilled shrimp and peas.

• Garnish with fresh lime slices and serve cold.

Chef ’s Tip - Look for clam juice with no additional salt added, other wise omit the salt in the recipe.

This recipe was published in 'The Cooking Of Brazil (Seconds Edition) by "Matthew Locricchio" - p33 to p35'