Tomorrow

I love this place called Parthenon, just off Cote des Neiges, on Van Horne, I think.

I love to cook, but there are just simply things that you can’t do at home. I wander the aisles at Tzanet and gaze at the industrial ovens and grills and believe it or not, I scheme privately to myself, wishing there were some way to get one into my house (Christ, with my kitchen about as big as a Windjammer Cruiseline’s, you KNOW the best I’m going to be able to put out is a fairly tasty grilled hot dog).

And Parthenon simply makes the best grilled shrimp . . . as I type the words the smoky piquancy, the lemon aftertaste, the sheer knowledge that it should be accorded its own Food Group in the Pyramid . . . well, it makes me Lust.

And when I lust, it usually means, can I make it at home, myself?

So naturally, I tried. First off, I recognized what I don’t have, namely, a wood-burning oven, or charcoal, or whatever. No grill. So how to get that smoky taste, that indefinable shrimpicity?

I’ve become a tiny expert in these things because I’m so doomed in this pathetic apartment kitchen . . . I HAVE to find workarounds for this stuff. I know it’s not going to taste identical but I have to try my damndest to make it as close as possible because I simply can’t afford to go to Parthenon every time I need their shrimp.

So here is what I did, and I have to admit, (unseen hands patting back) it turned out okay. In other words, I’ll do it again.

First off, I had to duplicate the sleekness. There were Things on the shrimp which I can only interpret as batter and spices. Plus, the shrimp have to be gigantic. Like, mega-shrimp. (You might want to substitute small lobsters, but do shell and devein them nicely).

So here is what you do:

Ingredients

10 -12 very large shrimp, 12-14/lb.
Two eggs, lightly whipped
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup flour
Salt and cracked black pepper (in the flour and corn starch)

Method

Shell and/or devein the shrimp. Brine them for an hour or so. Rinse and drain thoroughly. Pat dry. Dredge each shrimp through the eggs, then through the flour/corn starch mixture. Skewer the shrimp on a wooden skewer so it doesn’t curl while cooking. Proceed with all the shrimp. Now sprinkle the shallot/garlic mixture on the shrimp and turn to encrust thoroughly. Don't worry, those bastards had a marriage agreement with the eggs so they'll stick, trust me.

Heat a grill pan on medium for six minutes. Place the skewered shrimp on the grill pan, watch carefully, turning every three minutes for about nine minutes, or until all sides of the shrimp are no longer translucent.

Drizzle with lemon juice. Serve on Greek rice with tsaziki and toasted pita (sheesh, you want me to give away those recipes as well? Tomorrow. As they say in Athens, tomorrow).