Peri-Peri Garlic Butter Shrimp
Excerpted from AFRICALI: Recipes from My Jikoni. Copyright @ 2024 by Kiano Moju. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Kristin Teig. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Any food cooked on an open flame has big potential to be delicious. Shrimp are simple—just do not overcook them! Butterflied shrimp are great for two reasons: It’s easy to devein the shrimp, and butterflying gives you maximum surface area for any seasoning. The star here is the garlicky, spicy peri-peri butter that gets basted on top of the salty, charred shrimp. Well, I guess the only other misstep here is not having some bread to mop up all the delicious butter off the plate.
How to Make It
1
Make the peri-peri butter: Mix ¼ cup each of chopped fresh basil and parsley, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 tsp each of sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, and fine sea salt into 8 oz. of softened butter. Roll in plastic wrap and use within a week.
2
Prepare the shrimp: Carefully cut halfway through the back of the shrimp to butterfly, keeping the head intact (if using whole shrimp). Remove the dark vein and discard. Repeat with all the shrimp, then lightly salt and coat in 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.
3
Grill method: Melt the peri-peri butter and set aside. Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Make sure there are no active flames when it’s ready to use. Once hot, place the shrimp on the grill; there should be a ½-inch space between each shrimp so it will be easy to turn them over.
4
Sear slightly until the shrimp are charred on all sides and have turned bright pink, 2 to 4 minutes each side. The cook time will depend on how direct the heat is under the shrimp.
5
Using a silicone pastry brush, lightly brush the shrimp with the peri-peri butter before removing from the grill. Transfer to a serving platter, squeeze on the lime juice, and brush with more melted peri-peri butter. Serve warm with lime wedges and extra melted peri-peri butter on the side for dipping.
6
Stovetop method: Heat a cast-iron skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the pan starts to smoke, lower the heat to medium and pour 1 tbsp olive oil into the pan, then add the shrimp; there should be a ½-inch space between each shrimp to not overcrowd the pan. Sear until the shrimp are slightly charred on all sides and have turned bright pink, 2 to 3 minutes each side.
7
Lower the heat to low and add the peri-peri butter. Toss well to coat the shrimp in the butter. Once the butter is fully melted, turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Serve warm with lime wedges and extra melted peri-peri butter on the side for dipping.
Ingredients
For the Peri-Peri Butter
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup parsley
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp fine sea salt
8 oz softened butter
For the Shrimp
1 lb jumbo shell-on shrimp, about 18 (with or without heads)
fine sea salt
1 to 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 tbsp peri-peri butter (ingredients above; recipe to right), plus more for serving
juice of 2 limes
lime wedges, for serving
