Israeli Smoked Chile Shrimp Rice (Marak Style)

About This Recipe

Seafood isn't as central to inland Israeli cooking as it is along the Mediterranean coast in cities like Jaffa and Haifa, but coastal Israeli kitchens do genuinely cook shrimp and fish with the same base of onion, garlic, tomato and warm spice used in dishes like marak (soup) and various fish tagines with North African roots common among Israel's Sephardic and Mizrahi communities. This rice dish borrows that coastal Israeli spicing — cumin, smoked paprika and a chile kick — and builds it into a one-pan shrimp and rice dinner. The base starts with onion and garlic cooked down until soft, then bloomed with smoked paprika, cumin and a pinch of cayenne for heat, echoing the North African-influenced spice blends found in Israeli Sephardic kitchens. Turmeric-tinted rice cooks in the same pot as the tomato-based sauce, absorbing all that smoky flavor, while the shrimp are added only in the final few minutes to keep them tender. A finish of fresh cilantro or parsley and a squeeze of lemon brightens the dish the way Israeli cooks typically finish fish and seafood preparations.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 glarge shrimp(peeled and deveined)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(finely chopped)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1.5 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspground cumin
• 0.25 tspcayenne pepper(adjust to taste)
• 0.5 tspground turmeric
• 400 gcanned crushed tomatoes
• 1.5 cupslong-grain rice
• 2.5 cupsvegetable or fish stock
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 1lemon(cut into wedges)
• 3 tbspfresh cilantro or parsley(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the aromatics

   Heat olive oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook onion 6-7 minutes until soft, then add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

2. 2

   Bloom the spices

   Stir in smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne and turmeric and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

3. 3

   Build the sauce and rice

   Add crushed tomatoes, rice, stock and salt. Stir well, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 18-20 minutes until the rice is nearly tender.

4. 4

   Add the shrimp

   Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt, nestle them into the rice, cover, and cook 5-6 minutes more until the shrimp are pink and opaque and the rice is fully tender.

5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Let stand off heat, covered, for 5 minutes. Scatter with fresh cilantro or parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Variations

• •

  Fish version: substitute chunks of firm white fish like cod or halibut for the shrimp, added at the same point.

• •

  Extra heat: add a whole fresh chile, slit but left intact, to the sauce for a spicier finish that can be removed before serving.

• •

  Herb swap: use fresh dill instead of cilantro for a different but equally common Israeli finishing herb.

Storage

Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock, since shrimp toughen quickly if reheated too hard or too long.

Frequently Asked Questions