Leftover Pickle Juice Does Double-Duty in This Seafood Feast

By: Nikhita Mahtani
Show: Chopped
Pickled Shrimp with Fried Tomatoes

Pickled Shrimp and Fried Tomatoes

Photo by: Petrina Tinslay

Petrina Tinslay

On this week's Chopped Dinner Challenge, the chefs of Food Network Kitchen chose to feature the basket ingredient pickle juice. Instead of throwing out leftover pickle juice, the chefs decided to use it both in the creamy tartar sauce and to dress the shrimp in this Pickled Shrimp and Fried Tomatoes recipe. By using the juice for both parts, the tangy flavor is carried through the entire dish, and pairing it with fried tomatoes makes for a contrast in textures. Enjoy this dish for a simple weeknight dinner or weekend get-together. And it takes only 30 minutes total to create.

First, stir together the red onions, jalapenos and pickle juice for the shrimp.

Next, bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to boil and add the shrimp until pink and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain well and toss in the pickle juice mixture.

For the dressing, mix diced pickles, sour cream and pickle juice in a small mixing bowl and stir together. Season with salt and pepper.

Finally, prepare the tomatoes by filling a large cast-iron pan with 1/2-inch of canola oil and setting it over medium-high heat. Place the eggs, cornmeal and tomatoes in separate shallow dishes and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

In batches, dip both sides of the tomatoes in the eggs, and then dredge in the cornmeal. Shake off any excess coating. Fry the dredged tomatoes in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried tomatoes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet or large plate. Repeat until all of the tomatoes have been dredged and fried.

To serve, divide the fried tomatoes among 4 large plates. Remove the shrimp from the pickle juice liquid and place on the side of the tomatoes. Drizzle both the tomatoes and the shrimp with the dill pickle dressing.

Chopped Dinner Challenge

The Chopped Dinner Challenge is a series of recipes showing you how easy it is to cook like a winning Chopped competitor. Every week, FN Dish will showcase a recipe created by Food Network Kitchen that uses at least one of the Chopped basket ingredients from an episode, plus basic grocery goods and simple staples. Consider it your very own Chopped challenge. Just take this frequent tip from the judges: Don't forget to season!

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