I'm trying to spend a little more time at the stove or BBQ grill lately. It is just not easy to cook only enough for one person, so I have to work at preparing small portions! I need to eat my own cooking, and I love cooking for crowds, but when it is just for me ... the quicker I get done, the better. Believe it or not, this shrimp dinner is a 30-minute meal!
After peeling, deveining and washing the shrimp, I pat it dry with paper towel. While doing that, I've set a small pan of water to boil for my polenta (3 parts water to 1 part polenta). Once the water is boiling, gently pour in the polenta; turn the heat down and let the polenta simmer until it is done. Stir it occasionally.
I make the rest of this meal in one skillet, starting by quickly 'scalding' the fresh green beans in just a tiny bit of butter. I season my beans with salt and pepper. Before the beans were ready, I tossed in a small sweet red pepper, sliced. When my vegetables were crisp, but done ... I removed them and added a Tablespoon of butter to the skillet, letting it melt slowly. I added my shrimp and fresh sage leaves (chopped). I generously dropped fresh lemon zest over the shrimp. Once the shrimp started turning translucent, I turned the heat up high and quickly browned the butter and the shrimp! I immediately served the shrimp over the polenta. If you don't quickly removed your browned butter sauce from the skillet, it will become blackened butter sauce! The last step is a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice! Delicious!
I always have left over polenta and it is good in many ways. I added a couple spoonsful of smoked gouda walnut spread to the left over polenta and stored it in the fridge. Look at left over Grilled Polenta to see how I used it!
