Pickled Shrimp Recipe with Spinach Cream Dip

Pickled Shrimp Recipe. An appetizer recipe that’s just as pretty as it is delicious. Served with a spinach cream dip, this is a delicious and impressive appetizer. A Southern inspired recipe.

I love about anything pickled and as if I needed more reasons to enjoy fermented foods, researchers have recently posited that eating pickles just might help you quell anxiety.

And why stop with cucumbers? You can pickle about anything. I pickle beets every year, I’ve pickled pineapple and it was absolutely delicious over pork medallions. And how many times have I said, “friends don’t let friends eat Mexican food without pickled onions“. I recently saw a recipe for pickled tomatillo, but they seem naturally pickle-y to me. May not try that one.

I’ve had at least five pickled shrimp recipes bookmarked for a couple of years now. I have finally got around to trying one and I’ve made it twice now in the last two weeks.  Yes…It’s that good. In fact, it’s incredible.

This pickled shrimp recipe comes together easy enough with a little preplanning. The night before remove the skins from the EZ-peel shrimp and refrigerate. They’ve already been deveined, so that saves time. The next morning prepare the brine and cook the shrimp in the brine per directions. Then they sit in the refrigerator 8-10 hours, so that evening all you need to do is drain the shrimp and arrange them on a platter. Serve with spinach dip. I buy spinach dip at Trader Joe’s, but in the recipe from Food and Wine below, you can also make your own if you wish.

Before we get to the recipe below, let’s talk about the Dogwood Photography 52 Week Photography Challenge. This week’s assignment was to take a portrait: A headshot. Earlier you shot a selfie, so now shoot a “selfie” of someone else!

Anya, our Escrow Assistant at work was my subject. Pregnant, she’s all-a-glow right now. Her complexion is beautiful and her hair healthy and shiny. I asked her to be my model and she was delighted to agree. We headed off to a West window of our office and got situated so no wall hangings were in the frame. I asked her to “look sideways” so she’d be facing the light coming in the window, and when she moved her hand to straighten her hair, I took two shots and we were done. I’m quite proud of this photograph. I love how the light frames her face and dances off her blouse.

If you love shrimp appetizers as much as we do, take a look at this Chipotle Shrimp Wonton recipe from the archives. This one is a crowd pleaser with a mini muffin pan, easy to make.

Now for the pickled shrimp recipe – killer!

I hope you give this pickled shrimp recipe a try and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.  I appreciate all opinions, yay or nay. 

And if you have a favorite pickled shrimp recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

5 from 1 vote

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Pickled Shrimp with Spinach Cream Dip

Pickled Shrimp. An appetizer recipe that's just as pretty as it is delicious. Served with a spinach cream dip, this is a delicious and impressive appetizer. A Southern inspired recipe.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pickled Shrimp Recipe

Servings: 8

Author: Food and Wine

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 jalapeños thinly sliced
• 2 leaves bay
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon allspice berries
• 2 pounds large shrimp —shelled and deveined tails left on, 16 to 20 per pound
• DIP
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound spinach—stemmed washed, dried and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 cup crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt
• leaves Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, garlic, jalapeños, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, salt, peppercorns and allspice berries and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer the shrimp and liquid to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. If you can, accelerate this process by placing bowl out in the snow, or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Then cover and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
2. In a large saucepan, boil the cream over high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer the spinach mixture to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the crème fraîche and lemon juice and season with salt.
3. Using a slotted spoon, lift the shrimp and jalapeños from the marinade and arrange on a platter. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve the spinach dip in a bowl alongside.

Pickled Shrimp…They’re what’s for an Appetizer.