most delicious shrimp ever

Tonight the menu came from Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta (cookbook from Karen that is great!). I made the Spring dish even though we are dead in summer heat right now. This was quite literally the best tasting shrimp we've ever had, and it's not even that hard to make!

The cookbook called for making this by using fresh lavender as a skewer, alternating the marinated shrimp with small squares of red bell pepper and then grilling. I altered it to fit my lack-of-grill environment. I just cooked the shrimp on a cast iron skillet without the skewers and I served it with bell peppers cooked the same way. Below is the recipe for the shrimp -- note the marinating time required!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb small shrimp
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 sprigs fresh oregano leaves, chopped without stem
• 8 large basil leaves, chopped
• 3 sprig fresh thyme leaves, raked off the stem
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

1. Peel and devein the shrimp (sometimes the fish monger will sell them already deveined which is great, but don't forget to peel still).
2. Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss the shrimp thoroughly in the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat with just enough olive oil to cover the surface. When hot, add the shrimp to cook. Let the ingredients from the marinade come in to the skillet with the shrimp -- it adds to the browning of the shrimp. (Note: toss the rest of the marinade because it was sitting with the raw shrimp.) The shrimp is done when both sides are pink and it bounces back when you poke it; small shrimp take only a few minutes on each side.