Patricia's Pretty Good Shrimp

1 pound pre-cooked, frozen jumbo shrimp, tails on

1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

about 1/2 teaspoon salt
about 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper, if you have it
about 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
about 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
add these ingredients to herb mixture

1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon white wine worcestershire sauce (Jane Brody, in the original of this recipe, insists that this slightly esoteric ingredient is worth the trouble to fine and I agree)

Greens for garnish

about a tablespoon of minced garlic
a heavy tablespoon of regular ol' olive oil
a tablespoon or two of regular unsalted butter

Defrost and rinse the shrimp in nice cold water with at least a tablespoon of kosher salt added to the water. This seems to help remove the "chemical" taste sometimes present in pre-cooked, frozen shrimp. Let the shrimp sit in salty, cold water whilst you get underway with the following steps.

Crush together the basil, oregano, and thyme (or cheat, like I do, with an Italian blend of dried herbs). To the herbs the salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes.

In a measuring cup combine the wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.

Put the garlic, oil, and butter into a cold 10 inch or so saut�e pan. Begin heating over low heat; the purpose is to cook the garlic slowly so that it sweetens and softs, not quickly so that it browns and becomes bitter.

When the softening/sweeting process looks well under way, add the wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Allow the ingredients to blend well. Add the herbs, salt and peppers, adjusting seasoning to taste.

The entire mixture will begin to thicken a bit; keep your eye on it and add more wine as needed. Turn off the heat. Dry off the shrimp (if you don't, the sauce will get watery) and add to the saut�e pan. Stir GENTLY so that sauce will coat shrimp (or just get in there with your hands, which is what I do). Allow to chill in the fridge up to a full day before serving.

Immediately before serving, line a plate with a bounty of any kind of attractive greens. Remove the shrimp from the fridge for a half hour or so (the flavor does not come through very well if these are terribly chill) and pile in the middle of the greens.

A fun variation with the tails-off shrimp is to use the greens as wraps for the shrimp. Tasty!