By this point, I’m pretty sure we’ve established that I’m severely deficient in the recipe-reading department. Other than blaming a completely self-diagnosed case of ADD, I couldn’t tell you why: I’m a glutton for the printed word, I scored well on the verbal portion of my SATs, reading comprehension has always been one of my strong suits, and yet I’d say that at least half the dishes I make include an unintentional deviation from the recipe.
I don’t think I’ve ever messed up quite like this, though.
Back in January, the Wednesday Chef wrote about Melissa Clark’s recipe for roasted broccoli with shrimp, a quick, easy and tasty-sounding weeknight dish. I promptly copied the recipe into my Google Notebook, and it languished there for months, until a few nights ago when, sorting through my collection for dinner inspiration, I finally decided to try it out. All was going well until it came time to season the broccoli and I made what I’m now considering to be one of my classic mistakes: I used table salt when I should’ve used kosher. I upped the rest of the spices in hopes that that would help balance things out, to no avail. Luckily, I realized my blunder before doing the same thing to the shrimp, so a bite that combined vegetable and protein wasn’t as salty as a bite of the broccoli alone.
This doesn’t sound like new-error territory, I know; I realized the full extent of my idiocy when I clicked over and reread the Wednesday Chef’s original post before linking to it here. Not only did she make the same mistake I did, she mentioned alternative measurements to use with regular salt. In my defense, I clipped the recipe sans accompanying text, but regardless, this is a first: Even with a written reminder, I managed to screw things up.
It speaks volumes to the strength of the recipe, then, that my results were not only edible but really pretty good. See for yourself, but for the love of all that’s holy, people, keep in mind: kosher salt!
Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp
From Melissa Clark, the New York Times; via The Wednesday Chef
2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or 1/2 teaspoon ground)
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (or 1/2 teaspoon ground)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and chili powder. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.
October 23, 2009 at 5:37 pm |
So what is the difference between them?
October 26, 2009 at 1:29 pm |
Kosher salt’s much more coarse, so it’s less dense. One teaspoon of kosher is about the equivalent of 1/2 t. of table salt.