Spring Break Shrimp Dinner at the Oregon Coast

We scrambled to find a last minute deal on a cute little house just a block away from the boardwalk at Seaside for the weekend.  The kids are just starting their week of Spring Break, and we wanted to kick it off with a short get-away.

The little house was adorable.  The location wasn't perfect in terms of an ocean view, but we were simply a couple of blocks away from the beach and only one block from the old town promenade in Seaside.  The kids took off on their long boards and then we all hung out on a quilt on the beach reading books. Kevin played volleyball with Emma, we went for long morning walks and each night we walked to the local Dairy Queen for a cherry dipped ice-cream cone.

I was impressed with the tiny kitchen in our rental, and managed to pull off a couple of decadent dinners with minimal pans and effort. Saturday morning we had stopped on our way out of the city at Ken's Artisan Bakery for a loaf of walnut peasant bread and a few basic staple supplies at Trader Joe's in NW.  In just a couple hours we arrived at the coast and I ran into the local grocery store for a pound of fresh shrimp so I could try out this quick, very spicy and flavorful dish that I served with the bread and bowls of jasmine brown rice.

The recipe I used was from the October 2012 edition of Bon Appetite.  I just made a few little changes, and it was fantastic if I do say so myself!

I'll definitely be adding it to my repertoire. 

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3garlic cloves, minced, divided
• 2dried chile's (chef Brophy hooked me up with dried chile's from his garden)
• 1bay leaf
• 1 1/4 cups chopped tomato (about 8 ounces) (I used a can of tomatoes)
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 15-ounce cans white beans (such as cannellini), rinsed, drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Grilled bread (we used the Ken's Walnut whole grain version)

Preparation

• Preheat broiler. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add 1 garlic clove, chile's, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, 1–2 minutes (do not allow garlic to burn). Add tomato; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and smashing tomato with the back of a wooden spoon, until tomato is completely broken down, about 5 minutes.
• Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste is deep red and caramelized, 3–4 minutes. Stir in beans and broth. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook until juices are slightly reduced and thickened, 3–4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Combine remaining 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. oil, shrimp, and paprika in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat shrimp. Scatter shrimp over beans in an even layer.
• Broil until shrimp are golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbsp. oil over shrimp and
  beans; garnish with parsley.