Shrimp with Sweet Pea Sauce

Mint and peas are such a lovely combination (case in point, see my post for Minted Pea Soup), and here the two are combined in a bright green sauce. If you don't have or don't like vegan shrimp, try the sauce over seitan instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 20 Sophie's Kitchen shrimp, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup vegan chicken broth (such as Imagine)
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen petite green peas
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle the shrimp evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the black pepper.  Add to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the shrimp from the pan.

2. Add the chicken broth, garlic, and peas.  Simmer for 3 minutes.

Note: no need to thaw the peas first - these petits pois will cook in moments in the warm broth.

3. In a blender, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, pea mixture, mint, and butter.  Process until smooth.  Add the vinegar and pulse a few times to combine.

4. Spoon 1/3 cup pea sauce onto each of 4 plates, and top each serving with 5 shrimp.

Serve with garlic bread to soak up the last bits of sauce. I used this recipe, made with Earth Balance butter. 

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (5 shrimp, 1/3 cup pea sauce), Calories 300 

Tasting Notes:
The presentation of this dish was just absolutely restaurant-worthy: so elegant and delicate on the plate.  The pea sauce was wonderful - silky and buttery, with just the right touch of acidity from the vinegar to balance the natural sweetness of the peas, and neither too thick nor too thin. It would be lovely over almost anything I can think of - pasta, tofu, seitan - you name it. For that reason, I was actually disappointed I went with the shrimp (visual presentation aside), since the strong fishy flavor lessened my enjoyment of the sauce. But only a tad. Fantastic with garlic bread. A "4" for the pea sauce, a slight detraction for the shrimp in my overall rating below.

Rating:
3.5