I haven’t been cooking lately. There’s been a lot of tears, lying on the couch for inordinate amounts of time, missing the sun, and the strawberry picking, not swimming in the river, or going for walks with my dog, but, no, not cooking. There was a birthday, and a bridal shower, but I hardly remember either in the haze of my pain medication. But, still, no cooking.
Some of you know I was in a car accident in 2008 that left me in chronic pain. A few of you know it’s been flaring up lately. And a poor precious bunch of you are around to take care of me. It sucks. There’s no way around it. I’m in it and, try as I might, I can’t do anything about it. So I haven’t cooked. But I’m taking steps to drastically change my life, to make my schedule bend around my pain, instead of trying to keep white-knuckling to do everything like a normal, healthy person would. I’m optimistic about that. I’m excited. Excited to be broken down, to finally accept that I can’t pretend pain doesn’t exist anymore, disabling me. Good things are going to come of this.
One of the most depressing things about not cooking is not having anything to talk to you guys about. I mean, there was this awesome get-well present.
But I haven’t done any cooking past pitting the cherries and apricots as I eat them.
And there was this salad, made with the best snap peas I’ve ever tasted, but that didn’t turn out to be anything special — particularly heart-breaking since I wanted so badly to showcase those peas.
Finally, to top off the extent of my cooking over the past few weeks, there was this shrimp dish. You could call it cooking, to simmer something on the stove top for five hours (even if it took less than five minutes of active prep time). But it didn’t feel like cooking.
The fact that is doesn’t feel like cooking, despite the wonderfully homey, lovingly cooked quality of the dish is probably a good thing, if you aren’t me, and you don’t want so desperately to be able to perform a recipe that has a long do-to-list, spending hours doing your thing in the kitchen.
The “five hour” part of this recipe is for the soffritto. You can do this the day (or week) before, and then the rest of the recipe would come together in about four minutes — maybe six if you need to shell the shrimp yourself. It’s a good example of how to cook for Anita’s Dinner on a Deadline project, where one of the key ways to keep down your weekday meal prep time is to have a well-stocked larder. This soffritto is a stand-by in my larder — the star of my larder, really. I use it for countless things beside this shrimp, including mixed in to plain pasta, or in this peperonata rustica. It’s beautiful, full of caramelized flavors, and has luscious, garlicky depth. Having this stuff around has made this painful time more manageable for me. And if it can cheer me up, then you can trust it’s special.
Shrimp with Soffritto
serves 2//soffritto adapted from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Cookbook
for the soffritto:
3 cups finely diced Spanish onion (about 1 pound)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 (28-oz) good-quality whole peeled tomatoes, drained, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
for the shrimp:
12 – 16 jumbo shrimp, shells and tails removed, deveined
4-6 tablespoons kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Combine the onions, oil, and a pinch of salt in a small dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and set over medium heat. As soon as the oil begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low. The onions should stew slowly but eventually caramelize; adjust the heat as necessary so that the oil continues to bubble gently — never too vigorously. As the onions release their liquid, the oil will become cloudy, but once the moisture has evaporated, the oil will clear. Cook for about 2 ½ hours, of until the onions are a rich golden brown (a shade darker than golden raisins) and the oil is perfectly clear. Check often: if any of the onions caramelize against the sides of the pan, scrape them back into the oil.
Add the tomatoes to the caramelized onions and cook for another 2 ½ hours, or until the onions and tomatoes begin to fry in the oil: the onions and tomatoes will begin to fry in the oil and small bubbles will cover the surface. Gently stir the mixture. Turn off the heat, add a pinch of salt and the garlic, and left the soffrito begin to cool. (You can cool completely, cover, and save in the refrigerator until you want to use. The soffritto stays good for a couple of weeks.)
Meanwhile, mix together 4 cups of cold water and salt in a bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add shrimp to the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain the shrimp, rise under cold water, and pat dry on paper towels. Sprinkle with pepper.
Melt the butter in a frying pan that will hold the shrimp in a single layer over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp for 2 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side, until the shrimp are browned and cooked through. Transfer the shrimp to a platter.
Ladle a few spoonfuls of soffritto over the shrimp and serve. (You will have a lot of leftover soffritto, but I don’t that’s a bad thing.)
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June 24, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I pretty much love any recipe that originated in Ad Hoc – and this one looks like no exception. The shrimp look heavenly, even if they only took a few minutes.
I’m so sorry you’ve been dealing with chronic pain for so long. I wish you much luck with making changes in your life to make things easier – and happier – for you. Hang in there!
June 24, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I’m sorry to learn about your problems but am glad you push through them to provide us with tasty dishes and beautiful photography as best you can. I hope the future finds you pain free.
June 24, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Thanks, Joan. And thank you so much for always dropping by. I’m so glad to have you pop in and say hello when I post.
June 24, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I’m so sorry you have been in so much pain. I must have missed your posts about your past car accident and the chronic pain resulting. I also haven’t been cooking much for a far less important reason, just long hours at the office. I hope that you are able to find the right balance that you need. Just throw some cute pictures of Muntz up here from time to time.
Feel better Robin!
June 24, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Thanks, Whitney. Yeah, I don’t talk about it much since this is my happy place. : ) But sometimes the pain just takes over everything in my life and there’s no point in not mentioning it.
Let’s look at Muntz now!! hee-hee
June 24, 2010 at 7:30 pm
And, oh, I can’t help myself… some baby pictures:
June 24, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Poor girl :( This flare-up has such rotten timing, with you doing so much exciting stuff. I hope you start to feel more normal. xoxo
June 24, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I’m sorry you’re feeling crappy, but I’m excited about your new adventures!
And that shrimp dish looks delicious. Even if you don’t call it cooking, I will. :)
June 25, 2010 at 12:02 am
you may not think of it as cooking, but i’ll take it. in fact, i’ll take all of it — the shrimp, the cherries, the apricots, the snap peas, and muntz. take care of yourself, robin, and i hope you’re feeling better soon!
June 25, 2010 at 1:35 am
Someone close to me lives with chronic pain too. I see how debilitating it can be and how down it can get a person. Hope your situation improves somehow very soon.
The shrimp look amazing, btw.
June 25, 2010 at 10:12 am
Sorry to have missed saying hello Monday. I hope things get better soon! Muntz should be a big help.
June 25, 2010 at 11:40 am
Mattias – Sorry we missed you, too. Scott made me the most incredible foie gras burger (which I had with the Green Flash red ale) that totally lifted my spirits.
June 25, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Oh Robin! It’s good to hear from you again. I wondered about you this week and was even going to drop you an email. I figured you were busy with wedding plans or something. I am terribly sorry to hear you’re in pain again. However, your attitude is pretty remarkable. Good things WILL come out of this! And, the fact that you’re cooking at all, is fantastic. I think this shrimp looks sooo good. Thank you. Feel better!
June 25, 2010 at 2:35 pm
So sorry to hear about all your pain! You’ve got a great outlook and in order to recover, you’ve got to just take a break even though it’s hard not to work and keep up with the day-to-day. As for the recipe, it looks amazing!
June 25, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I’m so sorry to hear that you are in so much pain latley, I hope it returns to a managble state soon. So nice to hear such a postitive attitude. Thank you for the lovely recipe, I’m hoping to try it on Sunday night…love things that you can keep a few weeks in the fridge & have multiple uses, spot prawns are in season here so I’ll try it with them!
June 26, 2010 at 5:04 pm
From someone who also struggles, thank you for your honesty and for this wonderful simple dish (and for the Muntz photos – hee). Hope you feel better soon, sweetie.
June 27, 2010 at 12:21 am
Sorry to hear about your pain, which has to be so frustrating and awful. Hope you are back to your “usual” self soon. :(
June 28, 2010 at 4:34 am
I am always happy to find a new post from you. Sorry about the pain, I find it hard to reconcile your bold, adventurous, opinionated voice with the reality you described. Anyway, wishing you all the best. Those apricots look like they didn’t need anything but pitting. The shrimp looks and sounds like it needs to be tried
June 28, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Thank you, everyone, for your lovely comments. It’s so nice to have been able to post again, so that I could hear from you all. :)
Eva, please let me know if you tried the dish!
June 29, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Oh Robin, I’m so sorry to hear you’re suffering. Be gentle on yourself and only do what you can — OK to take it easy! Hope you start to feel better soon. ps: those pix of the ‘babies’!!!
June 30, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Oh I do feel for you! Thank you for letting us know about your experience, I can only hope that you find relief soon. Years ago I was told I had CFIDS, it was a debilitating experience that I’m still not sure how I got through; however, get through it I did. Mountains out of mole hills, changes in life style, and all that. I’m certain that you too, with your great courage, will also find your way.
As regards your “not cooking” my mother-in-law, Marcella Hazan, believes that the finest cooking is the cooking from the home kitchen. The food transmitted through history with love and skill. A well prepared dish, even if it is excruciatingly simple, is better than the most elaborate flavorless creation any-day.
Good Luck, I look forward to reading of your new ventures and good health.
Lael Hazan