Serves10 (hors d'oeuvre)
- Active time:35 min
- Start to finish:7 1/2 hr
April 2007
In the South, you’ll usually find this delicate spread—not a smooth paste, but slightly textured, to play up the flavor of the shrimp—on "benne wafers" (sesame-seed crackers). Spooned onto buttery toast points, it makes for tiny little bites with big sea flavor.
For shrimp butter
-
1 1/2
sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
-
1
lb
medium shrimp in shell (31 to 35 per lb), peeled and deveined
-
1
teaspoon
salt
-
1/2
teaspoon
black pepper
-
1/4
cup
minced onion
-
2 1/2
teaspoons
fresh lemon juice
-
1/8
teaspoon
cayenne
For toast points
-
10
slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts discarded and each slice cut to form 4 triangles
-
3
tablespoons
unsalted butter, melted
-
Garnish:
whole cooked shrimp
Make shrimp butter:
-
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté shrimp with salt and black pepper, stirring, until just cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a food processor, reserving skillet (do not clean).
-
Cook onion in 1 tablespoon butter in skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape onions into processor and cool mixture to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, cayenne, and remaining 9 tablespoons butter and pulse until shrimp are finely chopped. Pack shrimp butter into a 2-cup ramekin or serving bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 6 hours (to allow flavors to develop). Bring to room temperature 45 minutes before serving.
Make toast points:
-
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
-
Brush 1 side of bread triangles lightly with melted butter and toast, buttered sides up, in a large shallow baking pan until golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve toast points with shrimp butter.
Cooks’ notes: - Shrimp butter can be chilled up to 2 days.
- Toast points can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
