Shrimp is not exactly cheap, but there are degrees of not-cheap. If you take on the burden of shelling and cleaning the shrimp yourself, you've already cut the price on a pound down at least a couple of bucks. Make sure you don't get jumbo shrimp (pricier).
This method for shrimp is inspired by Mark Bittman (author of 'How to Cook Everything'): cooking the shrimp fast in a hot oven. The flavor is inspired by food writer Amanda Hesser, who zests citrus to flavor the quick-cooking shrimp. The onions are all mine: they're the cheapest accompaniment I could think of, and by flavoring them with pantry basics (mustard, dried herbs, and red pepper), you roast them into the perfect foil for the juicy, lemony shrimp.
Shopping List: 1 pound shrimp, shell-on, $7.99
Pantry Items: Olive Oil, Mustard, Dried Thyme, Salt, Pepper, Lemon, Red Pepper Flakes, Onions
Total Cost (for 2 portions): $7.99
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- Red pepper flakes
- 3 large onions, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
- 1 pound shell-on shrimp, trimmed, cleaned, and patted dry
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, the mustard, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper, and the juice of half the lemon. Mix together, then add the onions and toss well. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the onions are just brown around the edges. Remove from the oven, and raise the heat to 450°F.
While the onions are cooking, rinse out the mixing bowl. In the same bowl, combine the zest of the lemon, the red pepper flakes, the remaining lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and the shrimp, and toss to distribute.
Scoop the shrimp and all its oil on top of the onions. Return to the oven and cook 5 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
Serve immediately. You can eat these shrimp plain, or pile them on top of rice or quinoa.
Big Girls Small Kitchen is a food website for cooks looking for user-friendly, affordable ways to navigate their kitchens. As for us, we’re the Quarter-Life Cooks, Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress. Through our own experiences and experiments in our small kitchens (some good, some bad, some that went straight in the trash), we offer accessible recipes, entertaining tips, and kitchen strategies to help all home cooks of limited resources—whether time, space, money, or skill—make the most of their tools available, big kitchen or small.
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