It’s the season of getting things on the table quickly. It’s also the season of oranges. It’s also time to mix things up a little. This recipe, another from La Cucina Italiana, is another stealth meal: it comes together in minutes from ingredients you can count on one hand. My kids loved it. It’s going into regular rotation here & if you’re feeling really pressed for time, you can use pre-cooked frozen shrimp. I actually have a hard time eating these, but my kids love them, so I sometimes keep them on hand. I generally feel sort of guilty using them, since we can get really delicious shrimp from Pietro, but I don’t always have time to clean and prep them. So.
Shrimp with Chard and Orange Vinaigrette
adapted from La Cucina Italiana
- 1 bunch swiss chard, leafy greens rough chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 lb shrimp, cleaned (or equal amount frozen, pre-cooked shrimp)
- 1-2 oranges
- 1/3 cup orange juice (from fresh oranges &/or juice)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- Cut skin off orange, being careful not to leave any white pith behind. Carefully section each orange so the fruit is removed from the membrane. Set aside. Squeeze any excess juice from the membrane and peel into a measuring cup. Add enough fresh or pre-squeezed juice to make 1/3 cup. Add one garlic clove, let rest for few minutes, then add 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and mix. You will have extra dressing. (Remove garlic clove before storing leftovers in the refrigerator.)
- Sautee chard in olive oil with a pinch of salt.
- When chard is softened, remove it from the heat and quickly sautee shrimp in the same pan in a little olive oil with the second clove of garlic until pink or warmed through.(Alternately, if you have really good fresh shrimp, steam it, leaving out the garlic clove.)
- Separate chard onto four dishes. Top with orange sections, then shrimp. Drizzle vinaigrette over the top of everything.
