I have a food memory that I like to share with everyone and anyone who remotely enjoys food talk. During a family vacation in Malindi years ago, we popped into an Italian restaurant and I couldn’t pronounce a thing on the menu. So I ordered the only familiar item on it: pizza. I wasn’t very adventurous then, ha. Well, my seafood pizza arrived and I smelled it and ate it. To date, it is still the best thing I ever ate. I haven’t been back to Malindi since, so I wonder if I over-romanticized the experience. But it blew my mind! It had shrimp and lobster and calamari and honestly, the fruitiest, freshest olive oil. I still remember the smell of it whenever I use good olive oil.
Making this dish really took me back to Malindi. Though, not even! As you know, I have a great preference for simple meals, light ones, packed with flavor. This shrimp dish is all of that. Living in Nairobi means I have to settle for frozen shrimp, ah, it slightly depresses me. If you can get fresh shrimp, lucky you!
The recipe follows.
Taste of Jo 