This One Is Special – As Good As It Gets Recipe
Shrimp with fennel, diced tomato, and a splash of Pernod is a delightful dish with Mediterranean-inspired flavors. This recipe combines the sweetness of shrimp with the mild licorice-like essence of fennel, balanced by the acidity of diced tomatoes. Pernod, a French anise-flavored spirit, adds a sophisticated depth that enhances the fennel and gives the dish a rich, aromatic quality.
Whether serving this as a light summer entrée or a standout dish for a special dinner, the combination of fresh ingredients and a touch of Pernod offers endless possibilities. The shrimp cook quickly, soaking up the flavors of the sautéed fennel and tomato, creating a fragrant and flavorful meal that’s both elegant and easy to prepare.
Perfect with crusty bread or served over rice, this dish highlights the vibrant taste of seafood and showcases how a few simple ingredients can work together to create a culinary masterpiece. It’s ideal for seafood lovers looking for a new way to enjoy shrimp or anyone wanting to add bold flavors to their home-cooked meals.
What Is Pernod & How Do I Cook With It?
Pernod (pear’-no) is a French anise-flavored spirit with a strong licorice-like taste, made from star anise, fennel, and other botanicals. It is often compared to pastis, another anise-flavored liqueur, and is commonly used in Mediterranean cooking, particularly in French cuisine.
How to Cook with Pernod:
Pernod can be used to enhance dishes with its distinct aromatic flavor. Here are a few ways to incorporate it into your cooking:
- Deglazing: After sautéing vegetables or seafood, add a splash of Pernod to the pan to deglaze and lift the caramelized bits. This adds depth and a subtle sweetness to your dish.
- Sauces: Pernod works beautifully in creamy or tomato-based sauces, especially when paired with seafood. Its slight sweetness and herbal notes balance out the acidity of tomatoes and complement rich seafood like shrimp or mussels.
- Steaming: Use Pernod to steam shellfish like mussels or clams. It infuses the seafood with a delicate anise flavor that highlights its natural sweetness.
- Flambé: Pernod can also be used to flambé seafood or meats. By briefly igniting it, you get a mild licorice undertone without the alcohol, enhancing the overall taste.
Pernod’s versatility in the kitchen makes it an excellent addition to dishes where you want to bring out subtle licorice and herbal flavors.
This recipe was in my May 2007 Fine Cooking and was next to a few other shrimp recipes I can’t wait to try. I adapted it some when I made it because I didn’t have the full 3 cups of sliced fennel the recipe calls for; my daughter must have been snacking on it.
The recipe came out great, and I can only imagine it would have been better if I used the full 3 cups.
This recipe takes little time to prepare, so it’s a great midweek dish. When I prepared this, I had no fresh thyme or parsley and didn’t feel like going out to shop, but the outcome was incredible. It could only get better with fresh herbs.
I served it over my oldest daughter’s favorite food, Near East Rice Pilaf.
Shrimp with Fennel, Tomato and Pernod Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil extra-virgin
- 1 bulb fennel
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup Pernod
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- I like to buy my frozen shrimp unpeeled, with tails. You can find them already peeled and deveined, but if they are not, you need to peel, devein, rinse, and pat dry.
- Slice the fennel into very thin slices, much thinner than you'll notice I did in my photograph. What was I thinking?
- Smash your garlic or chop it finely, as well as your fresh herbs.
- Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. If you don't, they will steam instead of sauté; we don't want that.
- Season them with some salt and pepper.
- Heat your sauté or frying pan over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of the oil. You want to get the oil hot but not smoking.
- Add the shrimp in a single layer. Sauté for about 2 minutes, flip, and cook for another minute or two. You want the shrimp brown but not thoroughly cooked through. You will finish cooking them in the sauce.
- Remove the shrimp from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
- Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan along with the fennel and garlic. Season with some salt and sauté until the fennel is golden brown. This should take about 8 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the Pernod. The recipe said the Pernod might flame up so I decided to show my oldest daughter what that looked like. I tilted the pan a little over the flame so the Pernod would ignite, and we were all a little surprised by the size of the flame. Luckily, I had the pan cover out and quickly covered the pan and put the flame out. I'm saying this to let you know you must be careful whenever you deglaze a pan with alcohol.
- Once you add the Pernod, put the pan back on the burner and cook until most of the Pernod is evaporated.
- Add the tomatoes with juice, thyme, and half of the parsley. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the previously cooked shrimp, stir to coat with sauce, and cook for another minute or two until the shrimp are opaque.
- Let it sit for a minute or two before tasting, and then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve over rice, pasta, or by itself, sprinkled with the reserved parsley, as my wife likes.
5 Responses
Of course you can buy a big bottle! Pernod is delicious as a drink. The French drink it in the summer, when the ciccadas are out. Pour 3/4 inch of Pernod in a tall glass, add ice, and fill up the glass to the top with water. Feels just like Provence!
Why use canned tomatoes – how about seeded fresh ones with a little cream for a great sauce?
Try Pernod with lemonade – delish!
Hi Carol, fresh seeded tomatoes are great when they are in season with loads of flavor, but I find good quality canned tomatoes better when local fresh tomatoes are not in season. Most of the hot house tomatoes I’ve purchased have no taste at all although the cherry tomatoes seem to be better. – RG
This is very good, even my husband who is not a pasta fan, said it’s a keeper. The only negative I would say, is the fennel didn’t have the bang for the buck I was expecting. We used Ouzo instead of Pernod as that’s what we have on hand.
I made the recipe and it was fabulous. My Pernod did not flame up luckily.
Thanks for letting me know Catherine.