Red Snapper, Shrimp Broth, Glazed Carrot Recipe

Toast and sauté shells

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add butter. When melted, add shrimp shells and tails and sauté, stirring, until shells turn pink and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes.

Add chopped onion, carrot and celery to the shells and continue to sauté 3–4 minutes until softened. Add smashed garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute to develop flavor.

Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping any browned bits, and cook until mostly evaporated, about 1–2 minutes (skip wine if not using).

Add water, thyme, bay leaf, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, to extract flavor.

Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan or bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Return strained broth to a clean saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Adjust seasoning to taste. Just before service, whisk the cold cubed butter into the warm broth in small pieces to create a glossy, slightly thickened sauce (mounting). Keep hot but not boiling.

Place peeled carrots in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 6–8 minutes depending on size. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add cooked carrots and toss to coat. Add brown sugar (or honey) and orange juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and forms a glossy glaze coating the carrots, about 3–4 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and stir in chopped parsley. Keep warm.

Pat red snapper fillets dry with paper towels. Season both sides of fillets and the shrimp with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, dividing evenly (reserve remaining 1/2 tsp salt for shrimp broth if desired).

Heat a large nonstick or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is shimmering, place snapper fillets skin-side down. Press gently with a spatula for 20 seconds to prevent curling. Cook skin-side down without moving until skin is crisp and the white flesh has moved about two-thirds up the side, about 3–4 minutes depending on thickness.

Flip fillets carefully and cook the flesh side for 1–2 minutes more until just cooked through (internal temp ~135–140°F / 57–60°C) but still moist. Transfer fillets to a warm plate and tent loosely with foil to rest.

In the same skillet, add the shrimp and sear 30–60 seconds per side, until opaque and just cooked through. Remove shrimp and keep warm with the fish.

Rewarm the mounted shrimp broth gently if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning with a little more salt or a squeeze of lemon if desired.

To serve, spoon a shallow pool of warm shrimp broth onto each warm plate. Place a red snapper fillet over the broth. Arrange 3–4 glazed carrots alongside and scatter 4 shrimp around the fish. Drizzle a teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil over the fish, garnish with microgreens or chives and a lemon wedge.