This dish is an Italian answer to a shellfish tartare, with a cocktail sauce based on the piquant salsa rosa, a mayonnaisey sauce perked up with cognac that’s been a go- to dip for chilled shellfish since the 1950s. Crushed almonds are scattered over the finished tartare for additional texture.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces large shrimp
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
- 0.5 Shrimp Mayonnaise
- 0.25 cup lightly crushed Marcona almonds (crush with the bottom of a heavy pan)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
How to Make It
- ill a large stainless-steel mixing bowl with ice. Top with a smaller stainless-steel bowl. Peel and devein the shrimp, rinse them under gently running cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into ¼-inch dice, collecting the pieces in the chilled bowl as you work.
- Fold the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and the cayenne into the diced shrimp and season with salt.
- Spread some shrimp mayonnaise in the center of each of 4 chilled salad plates. Top with the shrimp tartare (for a formal presentation, shape the tartare into quenelles). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the crushed almonds and chives over the top, and serve.
