Honey Lime Shrimp

Honey Lime Shrimp - made October 28, 2012 from The Dough Will Rise Again

Are you in the throes of planning your Thanksgiving menu?  Trying  to achieve a balance between the traditional menu of turkey and all the fixings with family or guests "tired" of the same meal?  Got any pescatarians (those who generally eat a vegetarian diet and also eat seafood but not beef, pork, poultry or other animal meats) coming to dinner or people who just don't like turkey?  If so, this could be a good option to add to the Thanksgiving table.  It has the added benefit of taking an hour or less to prepare and most of that is the marinating time.  What's even better than how fast this is to make is it tastes great.  I've never had the honey and lime combination before but it's perfect.  The citrus of the lime complements the honey really well; this isn't too tart or too sweet.  I paired it with brown rice for a relatively healthy and low cal meal but it could easily go with rice stuffing or bread stuffing so you don't really need to add an additional side to go with it.

The traditional Thanksgiving turkey

 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
juice of one small lime, or half a large lime (2-3 tablespoons)
zest of one small lime, or half a large lime
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. In a large ziploc bag, combine all the marinade ingredients. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp, squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, and close it up. Place it in the fridge.
2. Let the shrimp marinate for 30-60 minutes, flipping the bag around once or twice during that time, so that all the shrimp stay evenly covered in the marinade.
3. When you’re ready to cook, take the shrimp out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; there is no need to add any oil or butter to the pan, as the marinade has enough oil in it to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. (If you would prefer to use the grill for these, you can thread them onto skewers and toss them on the grill at this point.)
4. Add your shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded; you can always cook them in more than one batch. Let them cook on one side for about a minute, until they curl up and start to turn pink. Flip them over, and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from the pan, and serve immediately.