A Forno’s Dinner at Home

For every special occasion and big holiday, my best friend’s family and I always go to a Spanish/Portuguese restaurant called Forno’s. Every single time I have ever gone, my best friend Chelsey and I always order the same thing – shrimp in champagne sauce. Which truthfully, I don’t think is traditionally Spanish or Portuguese at all but boy is it delicious. With all of the entrees, they bring out big platters of rice and crispy thin sliced potatoes for everyone to share. The best bite is when you put some rice on a crispy potato and top it off with some of the champagne sauce. It is perfection. Going to Forno’s with my second family for the holidays are some of my favorite memories. Starting with singing showtunes in the car on the way there, the best nights are always had with a Forno’s dinner.

With everything going on right now with COVID-19, I wanted to bring some of those memories to life at home. We might not be able to head over to Forno’s or even eat dinner together right now, but we can bring a little bit of that home with us. So I set out to recreate our favorite shrimp in champagne sauce. I served it up with some rice and crispy potatoes (and you should too) so you can have a true Forno’s experience at home. It doesn’t even need to be a special occasion or holiday. A Tuesday sounds good to me!

Making Shrimp in Champagne Sauce

If you are using cooked, frozen shrimp, then just thaw the shrimp and bring them to room temperature. Then you can cover the shrimp with the hot sauce to warm them up. If you are using raw shrimp, just sear them in a pan to cook them quickly with a little butter over medium high heat. Shrimp cook super quickly, so once the first side gets pink and opaque flip it over and cook through on the other side. Then just cover those shrimp in this amazing champagne sauce and you’re ready to eat!

The champagne sauce is very easy to make but it feels so luxurious. You will be shocked how quickly and easily this comes together! First, you will combine your shallot, garlic, champagne (or other dry sparkling wine – I’ve used Prosecco and it works perfectly!), and citrus champagne vinegar. You can find citrus champagne vinegar at the grocery store – I really like the one by O Olive Oil, which you can find at Whole Foods. This adds delicious bright, citrusy notes to the sauce. If you can’t find this or want to use what you have at home, you can use a combination of champagne vinegar and lemon juice. You don’t want to miss out on that citrusy kick! Once this starts to bubble, cook for about 5-8 minutes until reduced by a third. Then you’ll add your heavy cream.

You’ll cook the sauce with the cream for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce is thickened. The sauce should coat the back of the spoon when it’s thick enough. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add the butter a few pieces at a time, until fully incorporated and all of the butter is melted.

You can pour this sauce immediately over the shrimp and serve! You can strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pieces of shallot and garlic, but it’s not necessary. I usually skip that step because it’s just another dish to clean and I like the little bites of shallot. But do what you like best! I serve this over rice with a side of thin and crispy potatoes, just like at Forno’s. You can make any kind of rice you like, it’s really delicious over anything, but my favorite is with Paella style rice or some tomato rice.

For the crispy potatoes, I slice the potatoes about an 1/8 inch thick on my mandoline and soak the slices in water for about 30 minutes to remove some of the starch. Then toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper and either throw in the air fryer or the oven. They taste best when you pan fry them in butter, but the easiest way to make them is in the oven. Just spread them out on a baking sheet and cook at 425F for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through, cooking until crispy.

Print Recipe

Shrimp in Champagne Sauce

This dish is all about the champagne sauce which is super creamy and pairs perfectly with the shrimp!

Course: Main Course

Keyword: champagne sauce, shrimp

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• `1 lb cooked shrimp fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 1 large shallot minched
• 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
• 1 cup dry champagne or other dry sparkling wine (like Prosecco)
• 1/4 cup citrus champagne vinegar or 3 tbsp champagne vinegar and 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature, sliced into tbsp cubes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the shallot, garlic, champagne, and citrus champagne vinegar (and optional lemon).
• Let the mixture start to bubble and then cook for 5-8 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the mixture has slightly reduced (by about a third).
• Add the cream and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream has thickened enough to cut the back of a spoon. About 8-10 minutes
• Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time, until all butter is incorporated and completely melted. If the butter is not melting easily, you can return the saucepan to the heat on low.
• Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, to taste.
• Pour the sauce directly over the shrimp and serve!

Notes

Serve over rice and with crispy thin cut potatoes for a true Forno’s experience.