Nick’s Cove Shrimp Louie
Thomas J. Story
San Francisco Bay Area chef Chris Cosentino’s take on the classic Shrimp Louie is the perfect party appetizer and captures the throwback essence of Tomales Bay restaurant Nick’s Cove. This recipe easily doubles to serve more guests.
This recipe, and others like it, can be found in the article “These Are the Wines to Pair with Your Holiday Meal.”
How to Make It
1
Make the Oven-Roasted Roma Tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 175°, ideally with the convection fan on.
2
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3
Lay Roma tomatoes on the parchment paper, open side up.
4
Season with salt, black pepper, and thyme, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
5
The goal is to reduce the amount of water in the tomatoes by slowly dehydrating them so they become super-rich flavor bombs. Be mindful and watch them to make sure they don’t burn. They will become nice and soft in about 2 hours.
6
Once cool, remove tomatoes to a non-reactive container and place the extra oil from the parchment on top of the tomatoes to be absorbed.
7
Make the Boiled Fingerling Potatoes: Place the potatoes, salt, lemon peels, kombu, and cold water in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low boil, and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from water and set aside.
8
Use a paring knife to peel the skins while they are warm and set aside.
9
Make the Lemon Vinaigrette: Add all ingredients to bowl and mix with whisk. Season with salt and pepper.
10
Make the Louie Dressing Mix all ingredients in a bowl, making sure to adjust seasoning as needed.
11
Make the Shrimp Mix Add the bay shrimp to a mixing bowl. Dress with salt and pepper, then add the Louie Dressing and chives. Place in a small bowl to serve.
12
Make the Salad: Place all the salad ingredients in a mixing bowl except the egg, shrimp, and dressings.
13
Gently mix all the items, being careful not to bruise.
14
Season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
15
Dress the salad bowl with the lemon vinaigrette, then toss evenly.
16
Place a layer of the Louie dressing on the bottom of a serving bowl.
17
Lay the seasoned salad in the bowl on top of the Louie dressing.
18
Place the soft-boiled egg on the top, crack open, and season with cracked black pepper and flake salt.
19
Serve with the dressed shrimp on the top of the salad.
Ingredients
For the Oven-Roasted Roma Tomatoes
4 Roma tomatoes, cut lengthwise
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the Boiled Fingerling Potatoes
3 fingerling potatoes
1 tbsp sea salt
2 (2-inch-long) lemon peels
1 baseball card-size piece of kombu seaweed
For the Lemon Vinaigrette
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Louie Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp ketchup
4 tsp finely chopped cornichons
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp garlic paste
¾ tsp Tabasco sauce
¾ tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp smoked paprika
4 tsp chili powder
½ tsp kosher salt
4 tsp black pepper
For the Shrimp Mix
6 oz bay shrimp
2 tbsp Louie dressing (ingredients above; recipe at right)
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp finely chopped chives
For the Salad
1 head Little Gem lettuce, leaves picked off of stem
1 Persian cucumber, oblique cut
6 green beans, blanched and cut in 3” long pieces
2 tbsp oven-roasted Roma tomatoes (in the winter) or fresh tomatoes (in the summer) (ingredients above; recipe at right)
3 cooked fingerling potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes (ingredients above; recipe at right)
½ avocado
¼ tsp parsley leaves
¼ tsp tarragon leaves
½ tsp capers, non-pereil
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette (ingredients above; recipe at right)
Louie dressing (ingredients above; recipe at right)
1 soft-boiled egg
6 oz shrimp mix (ingredients above; recipe at right)
Directions
1
Make the Oven-Roasted Roma Tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 175°, ideally with the convection fan on.
2
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3
Lay Roma tomatoes on the parchment paper, open side up.
4
Season with salt, black pepper, and thyme, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
5
The goal is to reduce the amount of water in the tomatoes by slowly dehydrating them so they become super-rich flavor bombs. Be mindful and watch them to make sure they don’t burn. They will become nice and soft in about 2 hours.
6
Once cool, remove tomatoes to a non-reactive container and place the extra oil from the parchment on top of the tomatoes to be absorbed.
7
Make the Boiled Fingerling Potatoes: Place the potatoes, salt, lemon peels, kombu, and cold water in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low boil, and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from water and set aside.
8
Use a paring knife to peel the skins while they are warm and set aside.
9
Make the Lemon Vinaigrette: Add all ingredients to bowl and mix with whisk. Season with salt and pepper.
10
Make the Louie Dressing Mix all ingredients in a bowl, making sure to adjust seasoning as needed.
11
Make the Shrimp Mix Add the bay shrimp to a mixing bowl. Dress with salt and pepper, then add the Louie Dressing and chives. Place in a small bowl to serve.
12
Make the Salad: Place all the salad ingredients in a mixing bowl except the egg, shrimp, and dressings.
13
Gently mix all the items, being careful not to bruise.
14
Season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
15
Dress the salad bowl with the lemon vinaigrette, then toss evenly.
16
Place a layer of the Louie dressing on the bottom of a serving bowl.
17
Lay the seasoned salad in the bowl on top of the Louie dressing.
18
Place the soft-boiled egg on the top, crack open, and season with cracked black pepper and flake salt.
19
Serve with the dressed shrimp on the top of the salad.
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