Balkan Adriatic Shrimp Buzara with Garlic Tomato Sauce 🦐✨

Description

Balkan Adriatic Shrimp Buzara is a juicy coastal seafood dish with shrimp simmered in garlic, olive oil, tomato, white wine, parsley, and a glossy red sauce made for dipping bread. It tastes bright, rustic, and deeply Adriatic, with sweet shrimp, gentle acidity, and that rich tavern-style aroma that fills the table before the first bite. ✨

Hook ✨

Sweet shrimp, garlicky tomato sauce, white wine, parsley, and crusty bread make this Balkan seafood classic bold, messy, and unforgettable. 🦐

Ingredients

• Shrimp base 🦐
• 🦐 800 g large shrimp or prawns, shell-on if possible (1.76 lb)
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🍋 15 ml lemon juice (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• Buzara sauce 🍅
• 🫒 60 ml olive oil (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🧄 18 g garlic, finely chopped (6 cloves / 0.63 oz)
• 🍅 300 g crushed tomatoes or finely chopped ripe tomatoes (1¼ cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🍷 120 ml dry white wine (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 🥄 20 g breadcrumbs (¼ cup / 0.7 oz)
• 🌶️ 3 g sweet paprika (1½ tsp / 0.1 oz)
• 🌶️ 1 g chili flakes, optional (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 1 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Finish 🌿
• 🌿 20 g fresh parsley, chopped (½ cup / 0.7 oz)
• 🍋 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil, for gloss (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🥖 350 g crusty bread, for serving (12.3 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Season the shrimp 🦐
2. Pat the shrimp dry. Season with salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. Let them rest for 10 min while you prepare the sauce base.
3. 2️⃣ Start the garlic oil 🧄
4. Warm olive oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 45 sec until fragrant, but do not let it brown.
5. 3️⃣ Build the red sauce 🍅
6. Add crushed tomatoes, white wine, breadcrumbs, sweet paprika, chili flakes if using, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and simmer for 8 min until the sauce becomes glossy and slightly thick.
7. 4️⃣ Add the shrimp 🔥
8. Add the shrimp to the pan in one layer. Cover and cook for 3 min, then turn them gently and cook for another 2–3 min until pink, juicy, and just cooked through.
9. 5️⃣ Reduce until rich 🥄
10. Uncover the pan and simmer for 2 min more, spooning the sauce over the shrimp. The sauce should cling lightly, not dry out.
11. 6️⃣ Finish tavern-style ✨
12. Turn off the heat. Add parsley and the final olive oil. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and plenty of crusty bread for dipping into the garlic tomato sauce.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 18 min
🛋 Rest: 10 min
⏰ Total: 43 min

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