Grilled Paprika-Lime Shrimp

In between elementary school summer reading and afternoon play dates with friends, my childhood summers were filled with family dinner nights in my backyard. My cousins would come over, towels and bathing suits in hand, and we’d have “Dinner on the Cape,” as my mom called it. Given we lived in South Florida and it was over a decade before I visited Cape Cod as a Boston University student, the title didn’t mean much. All I knew is that my mom was going to grill delicious seafood, veggies, and corn on the patio.

To me, summer is synonymous with backyard barbecues and family pool parties. Since I just graduated from college, I’m feeling ~nostalgic, so this week, through this shrimp recipe, I wanted to try to recreate one of those summer “Dinners on the Cape” with my family close and New England on my mind. The two main spices in this marinade are turmeric and paprika, so this summer recipe is healthy, fresh, and super easy to make. Now that I have visited the Cape as an adult, “Dinner on the Cape” has added on a whole new meaning—this paprika-lime shrimp has me longing to be back on the New England terrain. And for a moment, the South Florida sun over my backyard and the freshness of the shrimp’s flavor brought me back. Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of shrimp
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tbsp red onion
Juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
Sprinkle salt
Sprinkle pepper

Directions:

Peel and devein the shrimp with a devein tool, small fork, or skewer
Finely chop the garlic
Finely chop the red onion
Add both to the bowl of shrimp
Squeeze the lime on top of the shrimp
Add the olive oil into the bowl
Sprinkle the paprika on the shrimp
Sprinkle the turmeric on the shrimp
Add salt and pepper
Mix gently until thoroughly coated in the marinade
Put the grill on high (Can also be done on the stove set to medium/medium-high!)
Cook the shrimp in a grill basket, carefully spoon them in so that the marinade doesn’t cause the grill to smoke
Let sit and slowly spoon extra marinade from the bowl onto the shrimp
After about 4-7 minutes, turn the shrimp over onto other side once they look more pink and white on the edges
Then let the other side cook for about 4-7 mins
They should be done after 15 minutes or sooner! Shrimp cooks very fast so monitor them
Plate on a serving dish with grilled peppers or vegetables to garnish