roasted shrimp with rosemary and thyme
We are blessed to have an abundance of fresh seafood available year round. We live in a town almost equidistant from both coasts of Florida. Cedar Key is just over an hour to our west, and St. Augustine is perhaps an hour and a half to our east. Fresh seafood is celebrated with festivals throughout the state, but especially in this part of northern Florida. Cedar Key will celebrate their 41st annual seafood festival this October. St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city, held their 29th annual seafood festival in March. There’s the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka and the Fiddler Crab Festival in Steinhatchee.
I think you get my point. Seafood is a big deal here.
When the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico happened a couple of weeks ago, we started wondering about the future of seafood in our area. Our seafood comes in part from the Gulf, and in part from the Atlantic Ocean – also potentially threatened by the oil spill. There seems to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding the long term effects of oil leak, but it’s certainly not a good thing. A well-written article by Kim Severson in the New York Times highlighted the fears of Gulf coast residents and the potential impact on the fishing and shrimping industry.
My mind has been on shrimp lately because of all of this, so I decided to roast some. It’s such a simple preparation that you don’t really need a recipe. In fact, all you need are some great shrimp, some olive oil, and some seasonings which you can vary to your taste. I used St. Augustine shrimp, the most common type we buy at our local seafood market.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and drizzle a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil over the peeled and deveined shrimp. Toss the shrimp with some kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, chopped fresh rosemary, and chopped fresh thyme. Spread them out on a sheet pan and roast them in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and firm and cooked through. I served mine with some cocktail sauce as an afternoon snack, but I’m sure they would be great in a simple pasta or risotto dish.
You did this as an afternoon snack?
Holy culinary indulgence.
We love shrimp and have done this same thing for a snack with a glass of wine and some crackers… YUM!
Simple and elegant, most awesome! If I were to suggest a wine to pair with it I would reccomend a Pinot Gris. I had one from Lange in the Willamette Valley in OR recently that went nicely with a range of foods including shrimp.
Hungry now….
Jason
great job with the shrimp!! I don’t know what the impact from the oil spill will be….so much of our shrimp comes from the gulf.
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Dr. Bob – You know, when you get that shrimp craving, you just have to give in. Doesn’t matter what time of day or night.
Karen & Jason – A glass of wine would have been perfect! And Pinot Gris sounds like a fantastic idea.
Dennis – We’re keeping our fingers crossed that things turn out better than we think they will. Thanks for the compliments, by the way!
I’ve never considered roasting shrimp before – genius!
Beautiful shrimp! The beauty is in its simplicity – you can just taste the shrimp – I love that it’s not fussy! I do hope that there will be minimal impact from the oil spill and that we will be able to continue enjoying the bevy of seafood that comes from your part of the country! Oh, and I agree with Jason – a Pinot Gris would be wonderful with this!
i love shrimp, not only because it takes a few minutes to cook them but they always bring the “wow” on the table… just l ike your roasted shrimp with rosemary and thyme… it sounds and looks elegant…. nice plating too!
Roasted shrimp has been on my mind lately, too. Your rendition looks marvelous.
Gorgeous!!!
Your shrimp look fantastic! The rosemary and thyme sound lovely. I’ve been worrying about the state of Gulf seafood as well. I live in Austin, and our shrimp comes from the Gulf.
Sounds both super simple and amazing at the same time. Mm. It can never go wrong with shrimp!
This sounds and looks like a great recipe! Thanks!
I came across your photo on Tastespotting and saw St Augustine shrimp…I’m out of St. Johns Florida myself! We go to the St. Augustine farmers market all the time!
These look great. I love the abundance of seafood in this area. I will have to read the article about the oil spill. It makes me ill just thinking about it.
Nice to have you here, Dawn! You definitely have an abundance of fantastic seafood where you live and shop. I bet the St. Augustine farmer’s market is wonderful!