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Shrimp with Peach Cocktail Sauce

I love to present this in martini glasses like an old-school shrimp cocktail. The sauce has the horseradish bite of the classic, but with a juicy, sweet freshness from the peach. Traditionally, the shrimp would be chilled first, but I serve them warm for a hit of hot and cold at the same time in each bite.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

PEACH COCKTAIL SAUCE

1 large very ripe peach, peeled and pitted
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh horseradish
2 tablespoons grade A maple syrup
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

SHRIMP

1/4 cup champagne vinegar
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 dried bay leaf, plus fresh leaves for garnish
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound large (16- to 20-count) shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails kept intact
Celery leaves, for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make the sauce, grate the peach on the large holes of a box grater over a bowl to collect all the pulp and juices. Add the horseradish, maple syrup, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, and salt. Stir until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, cook the shrimp: Combine 1 quart water, the vinegar, thyme, dried bay leaf, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Add the shrimp and poach until just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Drain and discard the thyme and bay leaf.

    Step 3

    Fill martini glasses or a shallow bowl with the sauce. Hang the shrimp around the edge of the glasses or bowl and garnish with celery leaves and fresh bay leaves. Serve immediately.

  2. c’est bon

    Step 4

    The best way to peel a peach is to choose one that’s ripe enough for the skin to slip off naturally. Otherwise, cut a slit in one end of a peach and plunge it into boiling water. Take it out as soon as the peel begins to curl back from the slit, about 10 seconds. When cool enough to handle, remove the peel.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family. Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.
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