This is one of the easiest shrimp dishes you can prepare. It’s from my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine  in America (Running Press). A quickie fix-up—with a little bit of rum added to it. Camarones con Cebolla was a family favorite back in Spanish Harlem, and it still holds up to this day. The shrimp is stir-fried just to doneness and smothered in onions. Few things can be more satisfying. This dish goes great with crusty bread or on rice.

CAMARONES CON CEBOLLA
(Shrimp with Onions)

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced in rounds
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 pounds raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 tablespoons Puerto Rican rum (white or dark)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
Salt and black ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté over moderate heat until onion is limp and transparent.
2. Add shrimp, rum, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until shrimp turns pink (3 to 4 minutes).
Yield: 4 servings.