An Ode to Shrimp Toast
I thought about starting off this grand newsletter adventure (read: Accountability Project) with an “About Me”, but quickly realized an “Ode to Shrimp Toast” is pretty much as Narni as it gets.
A shrimp toast encapsulates what I love most about food - deliciousness through simplicity and its ability to transport you to another place and time… oh and the combination of some sort of aioli + seafood = chef’s kiss. When I worked in my first professional kitchen last summer (the phenomenal Aragosta), I was seen on a few occasions eating the end of night lobster scraps from the top of the compost pile. All to say, there will be many seafood dishes chronicled in this newsletter.
While lobster is my all time favorite, my love affair with fresh seafood began with the humble Shrimp. I spent the first 18 years of life in downtown Charleston and I consumed well over my weight in fresh shrimp from Shem Creek and off of Wadmalaw Island. Finding fresh shrimp in other parts of the country is usually a Herculean feat and I demand Charleston shrimp every time I’m home. My family dutifully freezes pounds and pounds of shrimp during shrimp season to be enjoyed for the rest of the year.
Picking up shrimp from Shem Creek - if you’re visiting, I suggest Abundant Seafood or anywhere that sells Miss Paula’s shrimp.
Charleston shrimp at their finest.
This particular recipe is based off of a mainstay on the Edmund’s Oast menu and is potentially my favorite bite of food on the whole peninsula. Not being able to return home for a year during Covid, I started making it regularly in Boston and was transported back to Charleston in every bite.
Shrimp toast captured in the last few precious moments of its life.
When executed properly, each bite of toast will yield creaminess from the aioli (homemade or Hellman’s - I’m not judging!), tartness from the lemon, pickled veg, shrimp and fresh herbs.
This is an ideal entertaining dish (and the shrimp + veg mixture can / should be made at least 5 hours in advance) in the summer (serve with a cold gazpacho and corn salad maybe?), it can also be cut into smaller pieces for an appetizer before a summer barbecue. After a day or two, if you’re out of bread and still have more pickled shrimp, it’s heavenly over a herby orzo salad.
Thanks for reading, potentially following, but most importantly for joining the shrimp toast gang.
The pickled shrimp mixture
Some are calling it the toast of the summer.
Recipe:
Makes approximately 8 toasts
Pickled Shrimp Mixture
1 pound of large (hopefully fresh) shrimp, cut down the middle into halves
1 bulb of fennel mandolined or thinly sliced into rings
1 TBSP fennel fronds
2 medium carrots, cut into thin half moons
4 Fresno pepper, deseeded & cut into half moons
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
Crusty fresh bread (preferably rye)
Lemon Aioli
1 cup mayonnaise (Hellman’s or bust)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash of sherry vinegar
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Garnish
lemon slice
dill
fennel fronds
Italian parsley
Steps 1-8 should be done at least 5 hours in advance of serving!
Thinly slice or mandolin the fennel, carrots, onion, and Fresno peppers and put them in a bowl.
Finely chop garlic and add to bowl.
Combine lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, olive oil, and salt. (Note: you can use white wine vinegar instead of sherry if you don’t have it!)
Pour mixture over veggies and stir to coat.
Fill a large pot with water and juice of one lemon (throw the lemon into the pot after squeezing!), bring to boil.
Add shrimp to water and cook until pink and opaque (about 2-4 minutes depending on size).
After the shrimp have cooled, peel, devein, and slice in half lengthwise. (If you’re new to the shrimp world, I love Alison Roman’s tutorial on preparing shrimp!).
Add shrimp to vegetable mixture and stir again. If it feels like there’s not enough liquid to properly coat the mixture, add more apple cider vinegar to bowl.
Mix the aioli ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat olive oil in pan until hot, place bread in pan. Toast on both sides until golden brown.
Spread aioli on toast. Arrange pickled shrimp mixture (each piece of toast should have ~6 halves of shrimp on it).
Arrange fennel fronds, parsley, and dill on top to your taste and aesthetic preferences! Sprinkle Maldon salt on top. Serve with lemon and rose.
Pro tip: Unless you happen to be making this on trash day, put your shells in the freezer in a zip lock bag until your ready to dispose of them.
Okay wow yes happy to be here in the shrimp toast gang! The summer dish I didn't know I needed. So happy to see you on here!
Somehow I’ve never had shrimp toast 🫣 I have to try this!!