Green-Garlic Shrimp Toasts
A decadent party snack, all dressed up for spring
Springtime in New York is famously kinda non-existent—and, frankly, a bit crazy-making. It can be 40 degrees and barren well into April until, overnight, it’s 70 degrees and sunny and yesterday’s bare-branched trees are suddenly hanging thick with the most gorgeous cherry blossoms you’ve ever seen. I went to the grocery store twice in the past week, and in between trips the shelves had filled up with rhubarb, nettles, fiddlehead ferns, ramps, baby artichokes, young burdock, and my perennial love, green garlic.
Green garlic is among the earliest green things to crop up during New York spring. They look like baby leeks, or overgrown scallions, but are actually just the immature garlic plant en route to becoming the familiar bulbous cloves. They have a delicate garlic flavor that’s much less intensely spicy than mature garlic, and also have a pleasantly sweet, grassy, fresh flavor reminiscent of chives. Use the white and light green parts of the green garlic stalk anywhere you would use scallions or leeks (you can save the green tops for making stock), or toss them in alongside your usual onions or shallots.
Today’s recipe for green-garlic shrimp toasts is inspired by Hong Kong sesame prawn toast, a delectably crispy, savory, treat of seasoned shrimp paste spread onto bread then fried till golden brown. My take on this irresistible treat ramps up the bright fresh flavors of herbs and aromatics like fresh ginger, green garlic, and cilantro. (Speaking of ramps, those would be really good in here, too, either in place or in addition to the green garlic.) A good grating of lemon zest in the shrimp mixture and some fresh lemon juice to finish keep these pan-fried toasts from feeling too heavy. They feel like a festive ode to brighter days. And they’re unbeatable as a party snack.
You can prepare the shrimp mixture a few hours in advance and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to prepare and fry the toasts. These golden little bites are best when hot and freshly fried, but if you want, you could pre-fry them and rewarm them in a 300°F oven until heated through. I brought some pre-fried slices to dinner with friends and we ate them cold and there were no complaints.
Have a beautiful weekend—see you back here on Sunday.
-Chaey