Aug 21

Aug 21 Boom Boom shrimp and King's Insalata - a meal fit for Royalty and Plebians alike!

I haven’t been posting at all - I think I had the “covid doldrums” as far as cooking. My recent foray into the city to meet two of my college friends, Flo and Michael prompted me out of my cooking blues. Our whole evening felt slightly enchanted. I had requested in a note to the restaurant that we be seated on the King side (it’s quieter). I had gotgen there early and was greeted by the same server, Brian, who I’d had a few weeks ago. He recognized me and we chatted. I ordered a sbagliato while I waited for my friends and admired my parking space across the street. Always a good sign when in the city! I was and am incredibly impressed with King’s outside set up and their careful attention to the safety of their staff as well as diners. The mutual respect for keeping each other safe is a nice touch all round. I spoke with Annie (the Somm) and commented on her wonderfully written essay about Hospitality and Restaurants - if you haven’t read it you should - here’s the link:

https://blog.resy.com/2020/07/hospitality-save-restaurants-uncertainty-annie-shi-king/

But the meal….ah. First of all the service was attentive and kind. The food is always spectacularly delicious. Straightforward and simple using seasonal and fresh ingredients. Our highlights were the Insalat, Rose Veal as well as the Pork Chop.

Last night I decided I should try and recreate their Insalata. While we all wished the portion had been larger we all loved it’s freshness and mix of cooked and fresh greens. I wanted to add in a light protein and the shrimp in the store looked good so I decided to make Boom Boom shrimp on the side. I’m embarrassed to say I’m obsessed with this sauce. Sam (my youngest) made it for me while I was in Montana. It’s a sauce from Walmart that is made from a ton of ingredients that I usually don’t indulge in but the taste is so in my wheelhouse. Anyone who likes Siracha and spicy food will like it. And I follow Sam’s instructions and use a combination of onion and garlic powders or fresh garlic as well as the sauce. So here’s my rendition of King’s Insalata as well as the method to make Sam’s Boom Boom Shrimp.

Enjoy!

King’s Insalata (my version)

Arugula with Sauteed Spinach, Fresh Herbs, Ricotta Salata and Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Salad

10 ounces of Spinach

5 ounces of Arugula or other combination of baby greens

String Beans (optional - my mom had given me some fresh grown ones that I added)

1 - 2 ounces of Ricotta Salata

Zest of 2 lemons

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

Crushed Red Pepper

VOO, Kosher salt & Pepper

Fresh herbs - I used what I had from my garden - Basil, Mint and Dill

Lemon Vinaigrette

Juice of the 2 Lemons you used for the zest

Voo

Honey

Kosher Salt and Pepper

Directions

Saute the garlic in VOO until it starts to brown.

While this is cooking you can zest and juice the 2 lemons - (I use a microplane, not a zester for this but you can use either).

When the garlic is browned, sprinkle the pan with the crushed red pepper.

Add the zest

Dump the spinach on top of this and gently stir it in your pan, then cover the pan and let the spinach wilt. Check on it frequently and rotate / stir it in the pan. It will shrink to almost nothing.

Salt and Pepper the spinach.

Take the spinach out of the pan and, using the juices left, sautee the string beans. I had very long string beans to cut them into smaller pieces.

Barely cook the string beans - I like them crisp not soft so adjust according to your preference.

For the vinaigrette, Combine the juice of the lemons with VOO - I would say 1 - 2 Tablespoons / lemon but I like my vinaigrettes more acidic so you should experiment with your proportions. I wanted the vinaigrette to be a little sweeter than usual to offset the bitterness of the greens and complement the ricotta salata but this, too is up to you. I really just squeezed one little squeeze into the jar - again, taste it and make it to your liking. Kosher salt & pepper.

Arrange the arugula and greens in a bowl. Add the string beans on a side. Then twirl the spinach on a fork and make little circles of it, arrange in the bowl.

Shave Ricotta Salata on top so it looks plentiful.

I added a combination of chopped dill, basil and mint on top.

Drizzle with your lemon vinaigrette and combine.

Voila!

Sam’s Boom Boom Shrimp

Ingredients

Shrimp - cleaned and deveined. I made about 1/2 pound of shrimp but you can make as much or as little as you want / depending on how many people you are serving.

Garlic - I used fresh garlic cloves but you can use garlic powder. If you’re using fresh cloves, use about 1 clove smooshed by the back of a knife to each 1/2 lb shrimp.

Onion Powder

Siracha

Boom Boom Sauce

Kosher salt and Freshly ground pepper