Sunday Dinner: Shrimp and Assorted Roasted Bell Peppers

My two favorite women: my daughter and my mom 

I feel lucky: Yesterday, Mother’s Day, I got to celebrate with the two most important women in my life, my daughter and my mom. For me, that’s what Mother’s Day is all about!  

As you know, in my home, Sundays are the day for big family dinners; Mothers Day is no exception. Still, I wanted to make it a bit special, and try to accommodate all the guests’ dietary preferences—including vegetarian and gluten-free! Obviously everything doesn’t work for everyone, but offering a variety of dishes gives everyone the chance to pick and choose. 

Here was the menu I came up with:

Mother’s Day Menu

Mixed Green Salad topped with Chopped Mango, Mango Vinaigrette and Roasted Cashews

Shrimp with Assorted Roast Peppers and Onions

Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Wine Sauce with Cilantro, Served over Orzo and Quinoa medley, Topped with Roasted Almonds

Citrus and Cumin Grilled Chicken

Sautéed Garlic String Beans

Ginger Cookies, Fresh Strawberries

I have to say that this assortment looked great on the plates—and worked well together. I will share the shrimp recipe today—the others to follow soon.

Shrimp with Assorted Roast Peppers and Onions

Shrimp and Assorted Roast Peppers and Onions

Serves 12

7 bell peppers (I used 2 yellow, 2 read, 2 orange, and 1 green), deveined and seeded and coarsely chopped

2 red onions, coarsely chopped

Olive oil 

Coarse salt and freshly ground black (or assorted) pepper

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

3 pounds medium-size shrimp,  peeled and deveined (tail on)

Fresh basil (about 15 leaves, rolled and chopped)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking pan. Add the chopped bell peppers and onions. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss, and use salt and pepper as desired. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the peppers soften and start to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.  (At this point you can keep them at room temperature—if you’re serving within a relatively short amount of time—or you can cover and refrigerate them for up to 3 days.) Bring  the pepper mixture to room temperature before using.

Just before serving, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic. Then add the shrimp. Cook for a minute or two, and add in the peppers. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the shrimp is pink (don’t over cook—or it will be rubbery!). Add the basil leaves, and serve immediately (or as soon as you can!).

Mother's Day Dinner

With Sofia (my daughter) and Sonia (my mom)