5 tablespoons raw honey
5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons finely-minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 pounds large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup sparkling peach cider, or as needed
In a small bowl whisk together honey, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pat shrimp very dry on paper towels. Pour half the sauce over the shrimp in a bowl and toss to combine. Set shrimp aside and reserve the other half of the sauce for later use.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. With tongs, add shrimp to the hot skillet, cooking in small batches — don’t crowd the pan. Cook just until pink and no longer translucent (45-60 seconds per side), turning each shrimp only once. Transfer cooked shrimp to a bowl; set aside and keep warm until all are cooked.
In the pan drippings, quickly sauté the diced peppers and onions (1-2 minutes) over medium-high heat; stir constantly to heat the vegetables through evenly. Lower heat to medium and add the remaining half of the sauce. Cook just until the mixture thickens slightly into a glaze; if heated for too long the mixture will harden! Add sparking cider, as needed, until the desired sauce consistency is reached. Return shrimp and any accumulated juices to the pan. Stir once or twice to blend, and serve immediately over steamed white rice. — Serves 6-8
Using up leftovers — that’s how this recipe came about! Yesterday my friend, Karen, hosted a birthday gathering for our friend, Kathy — delicious food, beautifully-set table, great conversations, lots of laughter and many hugs were shared … it was absolutely a great get-together! We used only part of the Sparkling Peach Cider which Karen had asked me to bring, so she sent what was left home with me. Okay, what do you do with a half-full bottle of sparkling cider? The fizz doesn’t last very long after opening, and that tall bottle really needed to stay chilled — so I pondered over what to do with it. Yes, I could drink it, possibly freeze it in small cubes for later use, or maybe even just water the plants with it. So — instead of making my mom’s Corn Chowder (as I had already planned on doing for dinner that night), I concocted a new shrimp recipe to use up that sparkling cider — and it turned out to be really tasty. I think you will like it! I will prepare it again, perhaps using leftover tonic water or even ginger ale in place of the cider … but it certainly worked out well for me this time with the cider!