Shrimp with Snow Peas

This was a modification of a recipe from this month's Fine Cooking. It's not too far from the original, except the original called for asparagus. Well, the asparagus at my supermarket looked like CRAP, but the snow peas looked okay. So, there you go then ... Shrimp with Snow Peas. We served it over orzo (pasta) which had some chopped parsley and olive oil stirred in. Fairly easy. (Although the difficulty rating does increase as the level in your wine glass gets lower. Ahem.)

Garlicky Shrimp with Snow Peas (or Asparagus)

• 1 pound shrimp, shelled
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 2 large handfuls of snow peas (or 1 bunch of asparagus, sliced into 2-3" lengths)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch stirred into 1 tablespoon of water (really optional for me - it does add more body to the sauce, but don't get too wound up if you don't have any)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot hot, add you shrimp in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, and another 1-2 minutes on the other. Remove the shrimp to a plate (they will be a little underdone, s'ok).

Heat a little more oil in the same pan and toss in the garlic, snow peas and lemon zest. Saute for a few minutes, then add the chicken broth. Let everything simmer for a minute or two, then add the shrimp back in.

Toss the shrimp in the broth and get everything heated through. If you are concerned about the doneness of the shrimp, cut one in half to check that they are now cooked through (the smaller the shrimp, the faster this will happen). Stir in the cornstarch mixture if using and squeeze the lemon juice in. Let the mixture simmer a few seconds more - it will thicken a little if you've used the cornstarch. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice or pasta.