Spanish Shrimp and Rice Recipe

Prep the Ingredients

1. Be sure to wash and dry all the fresh produce. I am much more careful about this these days. Not sure if it's because I read more about the pesticides they are using or because I'm getting older and want to be more careful.
2. Peel the garlic cloves and finely mince or better yet zest them with zester. I like using my Microplane for zesting.
3. Cut the roots off the end on the scallions and then thinly slice them. Separate the white bottoms from the hollow green tops and reserve both.
4. Chop the capers and medium dice the zucchini.
5. Pull off the stems from the sweet peppers and toss, cut the peppers in half long ways, remove the cores and medium dice the peppers.
6. In a small bowl, add the white bottoms of the scallion, diced zucchini, chopped capers, diced peppers and ¾ of the zested garlic.
7. Wash the shrimp and pat try with paper towels. Remove the tails if not already done.
8. Add the shrimp to a small bowl, season with salt & pepper and half the spice blend (½ tablespoon). Stir to combine ingredients.

Saute the Vegetables

1. Heat your saute pan (frying pan), large enough to cook the vegetables and shrimp, over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and when hot, add the vegetables from the bowl. Saute for 5 minutes until the vegetables slightly soften. Stir frequently so the garlic doesn't burn.

Cook the Rice

1. In the same pan as the sauteed vegetables, add the rice and stir to combine with the other ingredients.
2. Add the tomato paste and the remaining ½ tablespoon of Spanish spice blend. Again, stir constantly for about a minute to combine all the ingredients.
3. Add 2½ cups of water to the pan and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil.
4. Cook the rice for about 20 minutes being sure to give it a stir every once in a while. When the rice has absorbed all the water and the rice is al dente, turn off the heat and add the sherry vinegar. Stir to combine.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Transfer the rice to a bowl large enough to all it all and cover with the same aluminum foil to keep warm.

Make the Aioli Topping

1. While the rice is cooking, prepare the aioli by combining the mayonnaise with the remaining zested garlic.
2. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and reserve to top the shrimp at the end.

Pan Fry the Shrimp

1. In the same pan as you cooked the rice, add a little more olive oil over medium or medium-heat and let it get hot. The reason I suggest medium OR medium-high heat is because everyone's stove top is different. I find my medium-high heat on my gas range is often too hot so I use medium heat instead.
2. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned shrimp in one single layer. Let this cook for about 3 minutes without stirring and believe me you will be tempted to stir them around. After 3 minutes, stir and cook for another minute or two until they are cooked through and opaque.
3. Turn off the heat and remove pan.

Plate & Serve

1. Add the rice and cooked vegetables to your plates, top with the cooked shrimp, add a dollop of the aioli topping and finish with some of the sliced green tops of the scallion.
2. Serve and enjoy this very easy to prepare meal. I know I will make this again and would be thrilled to serve it to guests.