Zaatar Crusted Shrimp with Lemon Tahini Drizzle

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You have no idea the high that I get after my husband gives me the thumbs up after trying something that I "created" in the kitchen!  This was one of those highs.   

So what ha happened was, I met up with a friend, a fellow mom foodie that thinks about food just as much if not more than I do to talk about work, seriously.  We spent about 2 hours talking about the kids and food, just kidding it was pretty much all food and sweet pillar, work, you know.  Zaatar came up in the conversation.  That was that.  

I came home, saw the shrimp I got for a lemon shrimp pasta dish I was planning on making.  Lightbulb.  Zaatar from my subconscious jumped out, the shrimp was right in front of my face, boom bam, next thing I know I'm creating Zaatar crusted shrimp with lemon tahini drizzle.

I thought it tasted great and I love that it was so different.  My mom and grandmother, both the best chefs I've ever known literally make so much food on a daily basis for the family, the kids, and non stop guests it's as if they were running catering businesses.  My mom makes and experiments with food all the time and cooks every cuisine under the sun, but when it comes to Arabic food she is NOT comfortable experimenting.  If I ever consulted with her about making zaatar crusted shrimp she would have freaked out, gave me a look of confusion, and would've just said in arabic "we just don't do that.  we don't eat zaatar and shrimp.  It's just not done."  There is one way to eat zaatar and its taking pita bread, dipping it in a bowl of olive oil then a bowl of zaatar and then sipping tea.  I'll update this post and tell you her reaction once I show her the pictures and tell her what I did.  Insert emoticon of monkey covering his face here.  haha. 

 

So this is actually pretty easy to make.  The lemon tahini sauce is used for multiple dishes so it's definitely a recipe to hold on to and know how to access later.  Ayla eats this sauce with just pita bread, she loves it so much.  I made the shrimp the same way I would if I was making buffalo shrimp or coconut crusted shrimp and then I just drizzled the zaatar marinade at the end.  The challenge is making the zaatar wet enough to stick on to the shrimp.

INGREDIENTS for TAHINI LEMON SAUCE

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup water
  • salt

INSTRUCTIONS for TAHINI LEMON SAUCE

  • whisk all ingredients together
  • As simple as that

TIP:

  • If it is too pasty, add more water until desired consistency is achieved
  • If you don't taste the lemon burst of flavor, add more
  • I tend to use a lot of garlic, so feel free to add more or less depending on how you like it

INGREDIENTS for ZAATAR CRUSTED SHRIMP

  • Egg
  • Flour
  • 8 Raw Shrimp, deveined
  • 1/4 cup Zaatar
  • 2 Tbl Olive oil
  • Frying oil (I used vegetable)

INSTRUCTIONS for ZAATAR CRUSTED SHRIMP

  • Create an assembly line by whisking egg and a little bit of water in one bowl, flour in the second bowl and shrimp in a third.
  • Start by dipping the shrimp in the egg mixture then the flour
  • Refrigerate while creating the zaatar mix and heating the frying oil
  • Once the oil has heated, fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes
  • Remove and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil
  • Mix zaatar and olive oil 
  • Drizzle on shrimp
  • Done and Done!