Shrimp with Sage and Pancetta + Brussel Sprouts with Lemon and Thyme

This morning when I told Jim what we were having for dinner, he said, “That’s weird.†Tonight he thought it was wonderful. I would not have usually paired shrimp and Brussels sprouts, but it was good. They had a lemon connection. The shrimp came from my new RR cookbook called Everyone is Italian on Sunday. Today is Sunday. The Brussels sprouts are from Fine Cooking. The shrimp says serves 4 and the Brussels sprouts say serves 6. Nothing is left but the dishes.

Ingredients

  • 12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (16/18 count per #)
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 T EVOO
  • Salt and pepper
  • 12 large sage leaves
  • 12 slices pf prosciutto ( I used 6, vertical half of each piece.)
  • 1/4 C vermouth
  • 1# Brussels sprouts
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 1/3 C finely chopped shallots
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 t finely grated lemon zest + 1 T fresh lemon juice; more juice as needed
  • 2 t finely chopped fresh thyme
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Rinse and clean the shrimp. Dress the shrimp with the juice of one lemon half.
  2. Cut the remaining lemon half in small wedges.
  3. Drizzle the shrimp liberally with EVOO, and season with salt and some pepper.
  4. Place a sage leaf down the back of each shrimp then wrap each shrimp careful and snuggly with pancetta.
  5. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat.
  6. Add the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally, until the pancetta is crisp and shrimp are pink and firm, 6-8 minutes.
  7. Douse the pan with the vermouth and swirl.
  8. Serve with lemon wedges alongside.
  9. Trim and halve the sprouts.
  10. Melt butter in a 12†skillet over medium heat.
  11. Add the sprouts and shallots and stir until coated about 1 minute.
  12. Add 1 C water, and season lightly with salt.
  13. Cover and steam until almost tender, about 7 minutes.
  14. Uncover and simmer until the water evaporates, 5-7 minutes more.
  15. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme. Season to taste with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and serve.