Fresh shrimp and lobster right off the boat from the Seacoast Eat Local Farmer's Markets!

I bought fresh shrimp and a lobster at the winter farmer’s market in Rollingsford this past weekend for dinner on Saturday night. It was out-of-this world delicious.  If you haven’t tasted fresh, local, “right off the boat” shrimp (not frozen, farm-raised or brought in from another continent), you’ve never had “real” shrimp before.  It’s soft and delightful, not anything like the farm-raised stuff we get from out of the country. And, what a treat to have a fresh lobster in January! We purchased the shrimp from the Yankee’s Fisherman’s Cooperative and the lobster from Eastman’s Fish Market.

The shrimp was only $5.50 for five pounds with the shell on, but it was well worth the 10-15 minutes it took to clean them. We broke the heads off the ones we didn’t cook and froze them in water to avoid freezer burn.  (If anyone has any tips on storing fish would appreciate hearing them!) What a bargain! We’ll easily get three or four meals out of it!

We kept it simple and cooked the shrimp with garlic, spinach, parsley and a few cherry tomatoes which added a little color and some sweetness. We boiled the lobster and dipped it in the wonderful garlicy juices with the shrimp.  

Here is the recipe:

Directions for Shrimp Sauté with Garlic, Spinach and Parsley

Put a generous amount of Extra Virgin olive oil (and butter if you desire) in pan on low and let the oil absorb some of the garlic for a few minutes. The more garlic the merrier as far as I’m concerned, but we used about 2 tablespoons. Don’t let it burn… turn the heat to medium and throw in some spinach, parsley and cherry tomatoes (cut in half).  Wilt the spinach and parsley and then throw in the shrimp.  Sauté for just a few minutes, don’t overcook or the shrimp will get tough. We had some leftover rice so my husband served his on top, I just ate it plain. 

Shrimp, garlic, parsley and tomato saute.

It couldn’t have been easier, or more delightful to eat.  Once you eat this fresh shrimp, you’ll never settle for less!