The Perfect Recipe When You Want Something Special!

My husband and I went to see “Water for Elephants”, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts a few weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it, it was exceptional—part musical, part Cirque du Soliel, part circus. The world is such a small place. We fortuitously ran into his sister, Rori and her husband, Vaughn, and joined them for dinner after the play at Maggiano’s Little Italy. Three of us ordered the Blackened Salmon with Crispy Calabrian Shrimp. It is served over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach, finished with a lemon butter sauce, and garnished with their four pepper relish. It was absolutely delicious! The above is a photo of that delicious dish prepared by Maggiano’s.

You know me. I had to re-create this to-die-for dish at home. Following is my version. This is the first time I have cooked with Calabrian chilis, which is now our new favorite. For health reasons, we avoid breading at out house, so I didn’t bread the shrimp like Maggiano’s. I sautéed the shrimp in olive oil, butter, garlic, crushed Calabrian chilis, and white wine. This in itself makes a delicious dinner and can be prepared in about ten minutes. Serve it with crusty bread to scoop up the tangy sauce or over pasta or polenta.

I didn’t make a four-pepper relish. I believe Maggiano’s makes their relish from fresh Calabrian and friggitello or peperone peppers. Since I can’t get those fresh, I garnished mine simply with sliced pepperoncini peppers and sliced hot cherry peppers. We couldn’t find any sliced Calabrian chili peppers near us. You can order them from Amazon. If you want to make this, you can find crushed Calabrian chili peppers at World Market or online.

Carol Ann’s Version of Maggiano’s Blackened Salmon with Calabrian Shrimp

Serves 2

This recipe has several parts. Make it when you want a special meal. I prepped the potatoes for mashing first and got them on to boil and then combined the spices for the blackening. I made the sauce and let it simmer on a very low heat until time to plate. The salmon and shrimp can be cooked in under 10 minutes. Sauté the spinach when the salmon and shrimp are almost done cooking.

Perfect Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 3 to 4

I have included my recipe for garlic mashed potatoes for beginning cooks. If you’ve been making mashed potatoes for years, use your own recipe. Yukon gold potatoes are the best mashing potatoes. If you can’t find them, use russets.

1 pound russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Dash salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup half-and-half

4 teaspoons minced garlic (or to taste)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon large grind black pepper

In a heavy saucepan, place potatoes and salt with just enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat, reduce the heat to a medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

To test potatoes, pierce with a fork. Potatoes should be soft when ready to mash. Drain. Return potatoes to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher. Add butter. In a small bowl, combine half-and-half, garlic, salt, and pepper, Add the half-and-half mixture to the potatoes and beat constantly with a wooden spoon until potatoes are smooth.

Tip for keeping mashed potatoes warm: If your mashed potatoes are done before the rest of the steps, place them in a slow cooker on low. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter and cover.

For the blackened salmon:

2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¾ teaspoon white pepper

½ teaspoon large grind black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves

2 salmon fillets, skinless (See tip below for an easy way to remove the skin.)

3 tablespoons extra butter, melted

In a small bowl, combine salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, and oregano. Dip both sides of fish in spice mixture and rub over salmon fillets to thoroughly cover. (You won’t need all the blackening.) Or use your favorite store-bought blackening.

Heat a skillet over a high heat until extremely hot. Dip spice-covered fish in the butter and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes and then turn. Cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes on the second side.

Tip for removing the skin from salmon: If you can’t find skinless salmon, this is an easy method to remove the skin. Place the salmon skin-side up on a wire rack or a broiler pan. Pour boiling hot water over the entire fish. Using your fingers, peel the skin off.

For the lemon butter sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons shallots, minced

2 teaspoons minced garlic

¼ cup white wine

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

¼ teaspoon crushed Calabrian chilis, or to taste

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon white pepper

In a small saucepan, place butter over a medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until shallots are translucent. Add wine, heavy cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, Calabrian chilis, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Simmer on low until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.

For the Calabrian shrimp:

Maggiano’s serves this dish with 3 to 4 shrimp. When you plate this, you can add all the shrimp or serve some on the side or save them for an appetizer the next day.

1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on (16 to 20 count)

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons crushed Calabrian chili, or to taste

¼ cup white wine

Using paper towels, pat shrimp dry. Season to taste on both sides with salt and pepper.

In a large, heavy skillet, place olive oil and butter over a medium heat. When the olive oil/butter mixture is hot, add shrimp, garlic, Calabrian chili, and wine and sauté, stirring constantly, until shrimp turn pink and their tails curl, about 3 minutes.

For the sautéed spinach:

Olive oil cooking spray

5 ounces spinach

Spray a large skillet with olive oil cooking spray and place it over a medium heat. Add spinach and sauté, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.

To plate:

Garlic mashed potatoes

Sautéed spinach

Blackened salmon

Lemon butter sauce

Calabrian shrimp

Sliced pepperoncini peppers

Sliced hot red cherry peppers

In 2 soup or pasta bowls, place serving size of mashed potatoes. You won’t need all the mashed potatoes. Top with a serving size of sautéed spinach and 1 blackened salmon fillet. Drizzle with lemon butter sauce to taste. (Or use it all.) Place 3 to 4 Calabrian shrimp on the side and garnish with pepperoncini and hot red cherry pepper slices.

As the Italians say, buon appetito!

Tip for using leftover mashed potatoes: I love making potato pancakes with my leftover mashed potatoes for breakfast and topping them with a fried egg.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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