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Prep Time: 35 Minutes Cook Time: 415 Minutes |
Ready In: 450 Minutes Servings: 10 |
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In the South, you'll usually find this delicate spread not a smooth paste, but slightly textured, to play up the flavor of the shrimp on benne wafers (sesame-seed crackers). Spooned onto buttery toast points, it makes for tiny little bites with big sea flavor. Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened |
1 lb medium shrimp in shell (31 to 35 per lb), peeled and deveined |
1 teaspoon salt |
1/2 teaspoon black pepper |
1/4 cup minced onion |
2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice |
1/8 teaspoon cayenne |
10 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts discarded and each slice cut to form 4 triangles |
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
garnish: whole cooked shrimp |
Directions:
1. Make shrimp butter: Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté shrimp with salt and black pepper, stirring, until just cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a food processor, reserving skillet (do not clean).
2. Cook onion in 1 tablespoon butter in skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape onions into processor and cool mixture to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, cayenne, and remaining 9 tablespoons butter and pulse until shrimp are finely chopped. Pack shrimp butter into a 2-cup ramekin or serving bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 6 hours (to allow flavors to develop). Bring to room temperature 45 minutes before serving.
3. Make toast points: Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
4. Brush 1 side of bread triangles lightly with melted butter and toast, buttered sides up, in a large shallow baking pan until golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve toast points with shrimp butter.
5. Cooks' notes: ·Shrimp butter can be chilled up to 2 days. ·Toast points can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
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