Sometimes I like to take my time, and other times I just want to get it over with quickly. Today was one of those quick and dirty days. I was hungry and I wanted something that tasted good! I’ve been trying lately to cut fatty dishes and focus on lean protein. (Please ignore recent recipes using heaps of cheese and praising the joys of gristle.)

Shrimp cook quickly and although they are high in cholesterol, are relatively healthy when you consider the calorie/fat/protein content. For example, ten shrimp has 99 calories, .3 grams of fat, 24 grams of protein. Considering I have low cholesterol, shrimp sounds like a pretty big winner in the diet plan.

I also had a pleasing bottle of Kono Sauvignon Blanc that was begging to be paired with bright and flavorful seafood. Done deal. A lot of the recipes I considered consisted of cilantro, garlic, and lime. I think we’ve done that with shrimp already, and I’ve been eating so much cilantro lately that coriander might sprout from my ears soon. So, I walked around whole foods looking at the options. As I said, I was in a rush all day; I didn’t have time to sniff every herb and think about how it would marry with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Instead, I went with my craving – for some reason, I wanted saffron. I felt obliged to give into the citrus/garlic pairing for Sauvignon Blanc. But, just to get a little crazy, saffron was now in the mix, as well as some fresh mint I grabbed from my garden.

And, because for some reason I refuse to be completely healthy, I also grabbed creme fraiche. Hey, even shrimp need to have a little creamy fun! The entire meal took under 20 minutes to prepare and even got a thumbs up from my 6-year-old. Now, that’s a tough palate to please!

Shrimp in Mint, Lime, and Saffron Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp (just to make it easier, but feel free to do the dirty work yourself)
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
A decent pinch of Saffron
1 Crushed garlic clove (add more if you’re feeling aggressive)
Juice of 1 lime.
1/4 Teaspoon lime oil (optional- I recently stumbled across this baking oil and had found it amps up the citrus flavor effortlessly, sticks to the food, and does not burn off quickly.
2 sprigs of diced fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup of creme fraiche

Instructions

In a pan, get your oil nice and hot.
Add a little salt and pepper, crushed garlic clove, and saffron.
After about a minute, add shrimp and pour the lime juice on top.
Continue to saute the shrimp, once they are starting to turn pink (which will happen quickly) add the mint.
In about another minute, add the white wine, turn the heat to low, and stir.
The final step is adding the creme fraiche and lime oil.
Stir, turn the heat off, and cover.
Enjoy the shrimp with pasta, risotto, asparagus, or just a nice big hunk of crusty bread. I served it with pasta and our Wine Wednesday’s Kono Sauvignon Blanc.