Thursday, November 1, 2012

Herbed Shrimp and White Beans with Arugula – dinner in 30 minutes




This herbed shrimp and white beans dish with arugula can be on your dinner table in less than 30 minutes and even less if you ask your fish monger to peel the shrimp for you.

The month of October has been extremely busy for us. We’ve taken two driving trips, one to see old friends in Alabama one weekend and another long weekend in Arkansas for my high school class reunion. To use a southern expression, “we’re pooped.” When it gets too cold in the mountains to wear flip-flops and deck shoes and we have to get our socks out, it’s time to go south. Very soon we’ll be heading south for the winter, entailing another long and tiring trip on the road.

This is exactly the kind of meal we like to prepare when we’ve returned home from our travels. Quick, easy, and light. If you have a well stocked pantry and an herb garden, there’s not even much shopping to do. Pick up some arugula, maybe watercress or use all arugula, a few cherry tomatoes and a pound of shrimp at the store and you’re good to go. If they are available, buy wild caught shrimp. They are sooo much tastier and fresher than the farm raised ones.



I’ll be taking a mini break, so if you don’t see me around for a week or two, don’t be concerned. I’ll be busy settling in for the winter down south and shall return soon.

For my friends who are suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, you’ve been in my thoughts and prayers and will continue to be. The eye of Sandy passed over our old homes in the Bahamas last weekend before setting her sights on the northeast. Living in the islands for years, we know what hurricanes and long power outages feel like. It wasn’t easy being without power for thirty seven days after Hurricane Floyd. But we kept busy rebuilding our dock that was totally destroyed. I hope you recover quickly and your life is back to normal very, very soon, and that you can keep your sanity through it all.



Herbed Shrimp and White Beans with Arugula 
Adapted slightly from Cooking Light – serves 4 – a quick & easy recipe

Vinaigrette:
4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups loosely packed arugula
1 cup trimmed watercress (or use all arugula as I did)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained well
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon water
24 peeled and deveined medium wild caught shrimp, about 1 pound,
Cooking spray
Kosher salt

Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. Place arugula, watercress if using, tomato halves, parsley and beans in a large salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

In a medium bowl combine honey and water and stir with a whisk. Add shrimp to the mixture and toss to coat. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and add to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side, or until done. Serve with the salad.

Alternately, if you don’t have a grill pan, you can sauté the shrimp in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, following the cooking directions above.



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This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Have a great weekend everyone. I’ll be back before you know it. 


48 comments:

  1. Sam- I can echo what you mentioned about being "pooped". Although this is my favorite time of year, it is also a very busy time of year. I saw a recipe very similar to this recently and loved the idea of combining shrimp with beans. This is another exquisite recipe!

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  2. Looks perfect . . I just wish I had a fishmonger to do the peeling. You've sure had a busy month. I'd love to be looking forward even to the milder climes of the Carolina than a western Pennsylvania winter! Have a safe journey and see you in a few.

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  3. A splendid salad! Colorful and tasty. I wish I could buy Cooking Light here. It is a great magazine.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Hi dear Sam,

    Well, I am a shrimpaholic, so this looks better than ANYTHING I've eaten on this trip....and believe me, I sample crab cakes and shrimp whenever I'm along the Gulf Coast.

    Yes, I LOVE Fairhope and know you'll have a ball here when you visit. It is so lovely and the home prices seem very reasonable.

    Love looking at your shots of the markets in France too. Is anything better?

    Cheers from along the road.

    Sharon

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  5. This sounds wonderful Sam. Have a safe trip back to Florida.

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  6. Safe travel and comfortable settling in. We'll have to do with this delicious looking recipe until your back!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  7. After chicken pot pie and beef stew for a Halloween celebration at a friend's house last night, this looks like the perfect thing for tonight's dinner. So light and fresh. Thanks for the recipe Sam.

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  8. have a safe trip. will look forward to your blogging from FL. This dish looks delicious and easy. Thanks so much!

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  9. I absolutely love shrimp and WOW that looks fantastic! Giving it a try

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  10. I adore shrimps! This looks so colourful and absolutely delectable.

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  11. Beautiful, as always. Looks like a keeper. I've made the following quite a bit and would love to see your spin on it: http://www.kitchenbounty.com/2011/10/lazy-baked-shrimp.html

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  12. Quick and easy yet delicious - shrimp's like bacon and seems to make almost everything better.

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  13. Two of my most favourite edibles arugula and shell fish, just keep some ready for when I pop over to see you :-)) Have a good weekend Diane

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  14. Pretty similar to my dinner tonight (shrimp, white beans + broccoli rabe) so you know I like it. Good luck resettling. Maybe we could meet for lunch one day??

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  15. I love the contrast that arugula brings to so many dishes. This looks fantastic, Sam. We've had a very busy last several months too and simple, healthy dishes are so welcomed. I'd love to try this!

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  16. It looks delicious Sam and perfect for any time. Hope you get settled in well and be safe on your long journey South..looking forward to hear from yopu soon!
    Ronelle

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  17. Not only is that a light and tasty meal, Sam, but it's picture perfect as well. The presentation is wonderful!

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  18. What a gorgeous looking dish, Sam. This sounds wonderful and I can't wait to give it a try. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary

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  19. Looks stunning. I was wondering if y'all got any of the snow over that way. I can't believe that Mt Leconte got 32" and we didn't see a single flurry in the valley. Trevor was disappointed.

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  20. I love that this has honey in it. I don't know why, but that just seems like the perfect sweet touch to a beautiful looking salad.
    Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday!

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  21. Hi Sam,
    I just love the color, texture and flavor of this delicious dish. We will really enjoy this dish.

    Hope you are having a great fall weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  22. Hi Sam, thank you for asking how we weathered the hurricane, we had a lot of wind, some pretty high ones too, driving rain came and went every hour or so and we were very fortunate we did not loose our power, only 2 tiny flickers. A good portion of our town was still our on Wednesday. School was canceled for 2 days and the college my husband teaches as was closed for 3 days! We walked away from this storm with a net loss of leaves! Like you, my heart goes out to all those still suffering from the hurricane.

    On another note, this meal looks simply delicious! Do you plan in being in FL for Thanksgiving? I can't wait to see what you cook up!

    Have a lovely weekend!
    Mary

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  23. This is my kind of meal too! It's hard to find wild shrimp in California, that hasn't been frozen. I don't suppose you'd have Shrimp Tips for us West Coasters, would you?

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    1. Lisa, I wish I had an answer for you. I am amazed that a good fish market doesn't fly in top quality shrimp to California. We even manage to get wild shrimp in the mountains, far from the eastern shore, which is a miracle to me.

      Keep looking and for the time being, see if you can find frozen wild caught shrimp.
      Sam

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  24. This looks delicious. I know what you mean about being worn out ~ too much traveling for me too here lately. And this weekend we're headed to New Orleans and then in a couple of weeks to New Jersey. I'm ready to sit at home and chill out. :)

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  25. This dish looks wonderful, Sam! Looking forward to seeing what you create for the holidays.

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  26. It may be a quick meal but very delicious from the looks of it. Have a safe trip south.

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  27. I just love the inspiration that this photo gives. The dish looks so light and delicious! Most of our friends and family have regained power so I can't imagine going 37 days without it!

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  28. Mmmm! Another winner! Safe travels to you and Meakin.

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  29. I'm a shrimp lover, and this looks like a delicius way to serve them, Sam!

    Thank you for all your kind words of support for the Hurricane Sandy victims and your tips on being prepared. I have been voluteering at a temporary shelter in Brooklyn the past few days for people that lost their homes. It is wonderful to see how many people are helping and donating goods that are needed

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  30. We are having a shrimp and arugula pasta dish tonight (Also from Cooking Light). Your dish looks so colorful. Have a safe trip Sam. We are still settling in here in Florida.

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  31. It may be quick and easy but it looks like a company meal to me. Although our heirloom tomatoes are gone the little cherry tomatoes are still tasty. Lovely meal, Sam. I hope your enjoy your little break.

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  32. I do love salads that include seafood and white beans. This looks really delicious. Thanks for checking in after the storm. Still no power after 7 days, but relatively lucky compared to most.

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  33. Looks delish, I love that it comes together so quickly too!

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  34. the white beans go perfectly with the herbs in the shrimp. Adds a nice touch of protein and richness to the dish! I love it

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  35. Totally my kind of meal. I'll Pin this.

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  36. OOoh ,..What a georgous & very colourful dish! I loveit & that vinegratitte calls my name too! :)

    MMMM,..A stunning creation, dear Sam!

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  37. lovely meal as always rest up lovely lady

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  38. Hi Sam!
    New on your blog which I love and which I am now following. Your recipes look delicious!
    Other than teahing scarf styling I am also teaching French cuisine to my American Friends, here in Florida - where I live.
    I will definitely try your herbed shrimp recipe (I am a total fan of fresh herbs). One point though: I think shrimp in the US have less flavor than shrimp in France... Do you agree?
    All the best,
    Anne (Playing With Scarves)

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  39. Wow! This food looks wonderful and tasty! I like that combo with herbs, they always give nice decoration and aroma to the food.

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  40. I really missed all your good recipes; I am trying to make a slow comeback and visiting my favourite blog; of course you are one of them. This looks so good; I pinned it and will be surprising my husband this weekend; we need more beans on our diet.
    Rita

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  41. Fresh, light and delicious. Safe travels south.

    Velva

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  42. I just got home after driving 2600 miles and meal preparation requires the simplest effort until I recuperate. I've already started a slow cook dish for tonight but as soon as I go to the seafood market for shrimp, this will be on the table. I absolutely love this kind of dish. Thanks!

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  43. What a treat for the eyes!! brilliant colors and looks loaded with flavor....should be a treat for the palate:)

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  44. What a beautiful dish - healthy, elegant and delicious - all I have come to expect from you!
    mary x

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  45. Just gorgeous Sam, it's a plate worthy of framing! Have a safe journey down south.

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  46. I'm craving for shrimp!!! I really shrimp. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will try to cook herbed shrimp. Not bad with 30 minutes.

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  47. This is my idea of the perfect dinner!

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