Equipment
Ingredients
Seafood
- 500 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail-on optional
Aromatics & Fat
- 30 g unsalted butter, divided
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Sauce
- 60 ml cognac
- 180 ml heavy cream, 35% fat or higher
- 15 g tomato paste
- 5 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 5 g fresh parsley, chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 716 kcal
- Protein
- 54 g
- Carbohydrates
- 8 g
- Fat
- 46 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 914 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 29 g
- Trans Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 536 mg
- Potassium
- 908 mg
- Calcium
- 242 mg
- Iron
- 2.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 103 mg
- Phosphorus
- 612 mg
- Zinc
- 3.8 mg
- Vitamin A
- 489 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 8 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 46 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.19 mg
- Niacin
- 0.1 mg
- Folate
- 14 mcg
- Water
- 274 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and black pepper on both sides.
Heat half the butter (15g) in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Add shrimp in a single layer, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan.
Sear the shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side until pink and opaque but slightly underdone in the center. Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining butter to the same pan. Sauté the minced shallots for 2 minutes until softened, then add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to darken slightly and caramelize the sugars.
Remove pan from heat (or turn off gas burner). Pour in the Cognac. Carefully ignite with a long lighter or return to heat and tilt pan to ignite vapors (flambé). Shake pan gently until flames subside.
Pour in the heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and reduce for 3-5 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon (nappe consistency).
Return the shrimp and any accumulated juices to the pan. Simmer for 1 minute to reheat the shrimp and reach an internal temperature of 63°C/145°F. Stir in lemon juice and fresh parsley. Adjust salt to taste.
Chef's Notes
- Patting the shrimp dry is critical; wet shrimp will steam rather than sear, preventing the development of a flavorful fond on the bottom of the pan.
- For a truly decadent finish, you can mount the sauce with an extra knob of cold butter right at the end (monter au beurre), though the heavy cream usually provides enough richness.
- Serve immediately with crusty baguette slices or over rice pilaf to catch the sauce.
- Do not skip the tomato paste; while small in quantity, it provides umami and a beautiful sunset hue to the sauce.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Reheat gently to avoid separating the cream sauce.
Reheating: Warm gently in a skillet over low heat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
Troubleshooting
Sauce looks oily or separated
Cause: The sauce was boiled too vigorously after adding the cream, causing the fat to break out
Fix: Remove from heat immediately and whisk in a teaspoon of cold water or cold cream to re-emulsify
Prevention: Keep the heat at a gentle simmer, never a hard boil, once cream is added
Cultural Context
This dish is a staple of French bistro cuisine, often listed as 'Gambas Flambées'. It relies on the technique of deglazing to capture the 'suc' (caramelized proteins) from the pan, using Cognac—a brandy from the Charente region of France—to impart a distinctive woody and vanilla aromatic profile.
