Recipe for roasted shrimp appetizer with spicy peanut sauce

This vibrant roasted shrimp appetizer looks like a midsummer night's dream, but with shrimp in the freezer and a few ingredients you already have in your pantry, this dream can be a midwinter reality, too. The shrimp get their bright color from turmeric, and the quick-and-easy peanut sauce from She Simmers gets its zing from Thai red curry paste. Instead of heating the oven to roast the shrimp, I grilled them on my new panini-press-griddle-waffle-gizmo with which I'm unabashedly in love. A hot oven will do the job in minutes, as will a stove-top grill pan, and you can make the peanut sauce a day or two ahead and store it in the refrigerator. The sauce recipe yields a big batch, so double or triple the quantity of shrimp and invite your friends for cocktails or a picnic.

Roasted shrimp appetizer with spicy peanut sauce

From the pantry, you'll need: frozen shrimp, canola oil, ginger root, turmeric, coconut milk, red curry paste, peanut butter, kosher salt, cider vinegar.

Serves 4-6 (spicy peanut sauce from She Simmers makes 3 cups, enough to triple or quadruple the amount of shrimp).

Ingredients

For the peanut sauce:
1 15-oz can coconut milk
2 oz Thai red curry paste
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

For the shrimp:
1 lb large (21-25 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined (defrost if frozen)
1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp grated ginger root
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a small sauce pan, combine all of the sauce ingredients. Whisk together to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp ingredients, and stir to combine (turmeric will stain, so be sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl and a spoon you like in yellow).

Preheat the oven to 425°F (or preheat your panini press or stove top grill pan).

Place the shrimp in a single layer in a sheet pan with rimmed sides, and roast in the oven for 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are curled and cooked through (don't overcook). Remove from the oven and scrape the shrimp onto a plate. Let the shrimp cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes, then skewer them with toothpicks or small cocktail picks, and arrange on a serving plate.

Pour some of the cooled peanut sauce into a small bowl, and place it on the serving plate.

Serve at room temperature, or chill both the sauce and cooked shrimp, and serve cold.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Blazing hot shrimp
Pomegranate-orange-ginger shrimp
Black bean and shrimp quesadillas
Grilled sesame-lime shrimp and cucumber skewers
Peanut dipping sauce

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Coconut curry shrimp with spicy peanut noodles, from Evil Shenanigans
Shrimp fried rice, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Shrimp with mustard-horseradish sauce, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Spaghetti squash and shrimp with lemongrass-peanut sauce, from Stephencooks
Shrimp and tofu satay, from Phoo-D

Comments

Lydia, I'm in love! This recipe looks sensational and I am thrilled that it's naturally gluten free and dairy free--thank you! This flavor combination will have me craving a taste the rest of the day (at least!).

Off to share ...
Shirley

Yum! I could eat this for a meal, sounds amazing.

This reminds me of satay - yummy! But then, I love just about anything with peanut sauce.

Extra peanut sauce would not be a problem in my house, that would go real quick!

Shirley, I love the easy recipe for the peanut sauce. Using Thai red curry paste is inspired!

Kalyn, I *did* eat this for lunch after we made it.

Jeanette, yes, exactly like satay in many ways. And equally delicious.

Sylvie, it wasn't a problem for me, either. I turned the leftover peanut sauce into soup.

These look fabulous!

Laura, so easy, and you can do them on the grill!

The bright golden yellow shrimps look gorgeous. I would love to eat them. Can I join in for the party?

This looks so good, it makes me sad that I am allergic to shellfish. Makes me excited to eat some peanut sauce though..mabye I'll make this with chicken.

FMB, sure!

John, this sauce is delicious with skewers of chicken or beef, or raw vegetables. Enjoy!

Do I sense a new blog? you could call it "LMN PPGWG" short for "Love my new panini-press-griddle-waffle-gizmo"

love this shrimp recipe!

Carol, my friend Kathy runs a fabulous panini blog called Panini Happy. Her blog inspired me to buy my panini press. http://www.paninihappy.com.

These look addictively good.