Shrimp a la Perea

Once again, my shellfish allergic husband was back in DC beavering away in the cause of informing people exactly what the US Congress might be doing on any given day, so I went for shellfish. I was intrigued by clams, after reading an article in the New York Times that said that New York and New Jersey were major clam producers. However, all the clam recipes either required deep frying, or baking, or steaming the clams to get them out of their shells and mincing them. So, shrimp, which don't need any of those things.
This is a terrific recipe for a dinner party. It is light, really fast to prepare (15 minutes flat)and tastes good. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen, which, as it turned out, was not important, since rain had been falling steadily since 10 am. It contains frozen artichoke hearts, which might be an issue if I was trying to make the dish in DC. However, the other supermarket in Great Barrington, Big Y, has frozen artichoke hearts. So much for living in the big city.

Shrimp a la Perea

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp shelled and deveined, with the tails left on
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 ten-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts cooked until just thawed, then drained.
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
1 to three tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the shrimp and saute quickly, stirring frequently until pink.
2. Add the shallots and garlic and cook two minutes
3. add the artichoke hearts, mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and lemon juice. Cook stirring until mushrooms and shrimp are tender, about three minutes. Makes six servings.