Moose Cafe’s Cedar-Plank Shrimp
From Chef Valerie Rovira, Moose Cafe, 1340 West Gray, Houston.
From the September 1997 issue.
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When it’s too darn hot to grill outdoors, try smoke-roasting your dinner on an aromatic cedar plank à la Houston’s Moose Cafe (1340 West Gray). Chef Valerie Rovira briefly cooks plump, well-herbed shrimp on the plank, then serves them with a garlic-spiked scampi sauce, crisp spears of asparagus, and scalloped tarragon potatoes. True, the method requires firing up your oven, but only for about forty minutes—and the cooking plank makes for a nifty presentation.
Moose Cafe’s Cedar-Plank Shrimp
Scalloped Tarragon Potatoes
1 pound red potatoes, skins on, sliced very thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon
Salt and white pepper to taste
Toss all ingredients together. On a lightly greased sheet pan arrange potatoes in a spiral form, overlapping each slice, to make 2 solid circles about the size of large pancakes. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
Scampi Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
2 tablespoons Roma tomato, quartered, seeded, and diced
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and white pepper to taste
In sauté pan over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook garlic briefly. Add onion, tomato, and wine and reduce by half. Add lime juice and cilantro and swirl to combine. Add butter and swirl until melted. Season to taste.
Cedar-Roasted Shrimp
10 shrimp (10 to 15 per pound), peeled and deveined, tails left on
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of a mixture of chopped fresh thyme, basil, rosemary, and parsley
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
1 cedar plank (available at selected kitchen specialty stores or from Chinook Planks, 800-765-4408; a sheet pan may be substituted)
10 to 16 spears fresh asparagus
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon dry white wine
Salt and white pepper to taste
Butterfly shrimp and place in a nonreactive bowl with olive oil, herbs, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic and marinate in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and warm plank in it for 10 minutes. Place shrimp, tails up, on plank and roast for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on size. Do not overcook.
Sauté asparagus over medium heat with butter, white wine, and 2 teaspoons minced garlic for 3 to 5 minutes, until al dente.
To serve, place potatoes on cooking plank and top with asparagus. Arrange shrimp around edge of potatoes and drizzle with sauce. Serves 2.
