What I made as a personal chef in Beverly Hills. grilled COLOSSAL shrimp. preserved lemon cous cous

What I made as a personal chef in Beverly Hills.

As much as I enjoy teaching little tips on how to cook, I am also enjoying a lot of the tips you guys give me regarding food from your own cultures. To me, that’s the most exciting thing about food. Sharing our love for our own food and our connections with those foods. Never stop.
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This is what I made as a personal chef in Beverly Hills. My clients wanted a nice and light meal to start the week, so we settled on some grilled colossal shrimps. Massive suckers. I got a few questions last time on why I clean my shrimps this way. And there are a few reasons why. When I cut it through the stomach, I can clean out the poop shoot and still have that thin flap of flesh on the backside that holds it together when I butterfly it, allowing me to season the shrimp throughout, cook it evenly, and have it look nice and presentable. It’s just a personal preference. Then I made a marinade of olive oil, grated garlic, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, onion powder, and a little bit of brown sugar. Then tossed it with the shrimp. You might be wondering why I didn’t have any salt in that marinade, and that’s because I find that to be the most inconsistent way to season. You have no control over how much salt is going into your protein, so I always season them afterwards. That way, I know exactly how much salt each piece has. I also got a lot of comments from people in North Africa telling me that I should rinse the couscous, steam for 10 minutes, three times, breaking them up between each steam. So, I took their advice. This was after the first steam. So far looking pretty good. It felt cooked, but I just broke up the clumps and threw it back in the steamer for another 10 minutes. Pretty warm day, so I wanted a light side salad to cool the whole dish down. I made a simple dressing with olive oil, zatar, lots of fresh lemon juice, pickled shallot liquid for some sweetness, pickled shallots of course, heirloom tomatoes, gutless cucumbers, colomata olives, parsley, mint, and cubed avocado. It’s honestly the perfect summer side salad. On the third steaming of the couscous, I added a bit of olive oil, butter, and salt for flavor. Then let it go one last time. Our veg is this beautiful cauliflower from the farmers market. Simply seasoned with the same flavors as the shrimp and into the oven. Also wanted something kind of creamy and tangy, so I got some lab, which is a Middle Eastern strained yogurt. It’s thick, tangy, and very good. If you ever make sauces with yogurt, get labnet instead. You’ll never go back to using yogurt. I promise you. I combine it with parsley, olive oil, mint, lemon juice, and a little bit of honey to offset the tang and round it out. As you can tell, I love fresh herbs. I also got these preserved lemons. If you don’t know, preserved lemons originate from North Africa and used a lot in Moroccan cuisine. They’re lemons that are basically preserved in a mix of salt and their own juices. Super cool. One thing about preserved lemons, the flesh is not usually used. Just a rind. At least as far as I know, the flesh is so so salty. But maybe it does have a use. Let me know if you guys know. Flavor is also different from fresh lemon zest and juice. It’s obviously salty and it’s more of a muted mellow lemon flavor. Not as much of a sharp tang, but definitely still lemon. So, I chopped it fine and combined it with the couscous to season it along with some of that liquid from our side salad to brighten it all up. It’s now 1 and that means it’s time to finish up. I grill the shrimps nice and hard on the grill to get a smoky char and get ready to plate. Spoonful of the honey herb labnet. Top it with a cucumber tomato olive avocado side salad. Preserved lemon couscous. Grilled shrimp that I hit with fresh lemon juice and the roasted cauliflower. Bright, healthy, balanced. Is this enough food for