Scampified Shrimp Over Smashed Cauliflower

A recent purchase of a pound of large shrimp at my local Hannaford market's fish counter inspired tonight's dinner. The shrimp was wrapped in brown paper and in my freezer for a week, then thawed in my fridge for a day. I had to make something with it tonight. This shrimp happened to be pre-cooked, but you can make this dish with raw shrimp since it cooks in just minutes.

Here I was with this pound of beautiful shrimp, thinking, "What I'd REALLY like to do with this is..." make scampi.  But linguini is not on the low-carb menu.  Rats. I also thought about the shrimp and cheddar grits I had at a great restaurant in Disney World a few years ago. Well, if you look around and see this house, literally sitting in the middle of a northeast forest, you'd probably figure that there are no grits in my pantry, and besides, they're pretty carb-y. I did love the presentation of that meal, shrimp on skewers sitting atop a mound of grits. So I thought, why not make a mound of smashed cauliflower, seasoned and pureed, and put some scampified shrimp on top of that? The flavors of olive oil, butter, garlic, lemon, and white wine are magical together. Well, I have to tell you, it worked. I used a dozen of those shrimp for the scampi, and six for shrimp salad for tomorrow's lunch.  Dinner was DELISH! And it took no time at all!

SCAMPIFIED SHRIMP OVER SMASHED CAULIFLOWER
Serves 2 (maybe)

Make smashed cauliflower:
1 lb. frozen cauliflower florets
4 tablespoons low-fat or non-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook cauliflower (steam or cook in an inch of boiling water, covered) 8 minutes or until fork tender.
Drain cauliflower. Then pour out onto clean dish towel and squish to get all the excess water out.

In blender, place cauliflower, sour cream, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Puree, stopping to move it around and continue to blend until it is all incorporated and smooth. Add a little milk (a tablespoon at a time) if it seems too thick, but it will probably be fine without it.

With a spatula, spoon out into a heat-proof bowl and cover with a plate to keep warm while making the shrimp (or microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute when the shrimp is ready).

While the cauliflower is cooking, start shrimp:

1/2 lb. large shrimp, cleaned and de-veined (I used pre-cooked)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Smart Balance or butter if you prefer
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup good white wine
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons cold water until dissolved

Another tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

In skillet over medium heat, melt butter in olive oil. Add minced garlic and cook until garlic gets toasty but not too brown (mine got a little too toasty!). Add lemon juice and wine. Heat to bubbling. Add cornstarch mixture and stir, cooking until slightly thickened. Add shrimp and heat through, for a couple of minutes over low heat, turning shrimp half-way through. If using raw shrimp, cook until opaque and cooked.  It just takes a couple of minutes.

Pour shrimp and sauce over smashed cauliflower, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and enjoy this healthy version of an otherwise decadent favorite!

And here's the shrimp salad for tomorrow's lunch (shell-fish overload!)

Cut up shrimp, celery, canola mayo and lots of pepper.  That's it.

So, there you go.  Shrimp for dinner, and for lunch!

Enjoy!