Embrace the joys of cooking together with this garlicky shrimp dish

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For Sonja and Alex Overhiser, two is not too many cooks in the kitchen. The food bloggers and cookbook authors met on their first day of college at Indiana University as freshman floor-mates, started dating their sophomore year and have been together ever since.

“When we got married, we moved to the city, we bought a house and we said, ‘Let’s have people over for dinner,’” Sonja said on a video call from their home in Indianapolis. “And we realized we had no idea how to cook a dinner outside of our convenience food repertoire.” So they decided to start learning, and sharing what they learned turned into a career.

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They launched their cooking blog, A Couple Cooks, in 2010; published a vegetarian cookbook in 2018; wrote the first installment of The Post’s Plant Powered newsletter the following year; and, this fall, published their second cookbook, “A Couple Cooks: 100 Recipes to Cook Together.” Their latest effort fully leans into the brand they’ve built around cooking together; the book is designed to give tips, tricks and, of course, recipes for any two people who want to spend time in the kitchen together and make cooking more of an experience than just a chore.

“We don’t cook together every day,” Alex said. “But when we do, we realized that the typical ‘one person cook and one person clean’ scenario that we see in lots of relationships just leaves out the opportunity to have a relationship while cooking.”

They’re the first to admit that kitchen collaboration doesn’t always go smoothly. “The biggest disadvantage is that we don’t always agree on the best way to make a recipe,” Alex said.

Thankfully, the pair has a page full of tips for cooking as a team, including embracing different work styles, picking someone to be the head chef for each recipe, setting up separate prep areas, learning to admit when you’re wrong and remembering that the relationship is always more important than the food. (Whenever a dish doesn’t turn out perfectly, they usually add a little cheese and just eat it anyway.)

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When disagreements arise, “Eventually one of us will say, ‘Okay, we’ll try it your way this time,’ and maybe it’ll be an I-told-you-so moment, but maybe it won’t,” Sonja said. Or, if you’re abiding by the couple’s tips, leave it up to the head chef to make the decision. “Something we’ve learned over time is it is more important to have a great relationship and experience than have one person be right or wrong.” The key for them has been humility, which can be applied to fostering healthy relationships outside of the kitchen, too.

For those new to sharing the kitchen with someone else, the Overhisers’ book gives a blueprint that can be used as a jumping-off point. Each recipe offers suggestions for how to divide up the tasks between two people, with circles and squares next to each step to represent the two cooks. For their gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic), for example, one person can be responsible for slicing and toasting the baguette while the other is primarily in charge of seasoning and cooking the shrimp.

Sonja was studying abroad in Spain when she first tasted the classic tapa that features shrimp in a delightful garlic and olive oil sauce flavoured with dry sherry and lemon juice. “[Alex] became very jealous of all the delicious eating,” she said. Eventually, they were able to visit as a couple, and Sonja got to show Alex around. They returned home with a particular fondness for gambas al ajillo, “which are so juicy and succulent and garlicky.”

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Instead of a small plate, their version turns it into a main course, which is ideal for a casual, at-home date night where you can eat it right out of the skillet, if you wish, dipping crusty bread into the rich sauce. Round out the meal with a salad and a glass of wine or a sherry Negroni, their recommended drink pairing, which replaces the gin in the classic iteration with the dry sherry used in the shrimp dish.

If you’re used to cooking solo and want to try inviting another cook into your kitchen, the Overhisers suggest choosing a dish that is new to both parties as a way to put both people on a level playing field – and these savoury, garlicky shrimp would be a great place to start.

Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp With Garlic)

1 serving

Total time: 15 mins

Gambas al ajillo is a traditional Spanish tapa that features shrimp in a delightful garlic and olive oil sauce flavoured with dry sherry and lemon juice. If you buy shrimp that are already peeled and deveined, this dish comes together in minutes. Serve it with crusty bread for dipping in the delicious sauce, and pair with a salad for a quick weeknight meal.

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Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces large (21-25 or 26-30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined (with or without the tail)

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon), plus lemon wedges for serving

1/2 baguette (6 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for serving

STEPS

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Pat the shrimp dry. In a medium bowl, toss together the shrimp, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes and salt until combined. In a small bowl, whisk together the sherry and lemon juice.

Arrange the bread on a sheet pan. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until just crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle.

In a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic in a single layer and saute until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sherry and lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds more. Flip the shrimp with a spatula or tongs, and cook until nearly opaque, an additional 30 to 60 seconds.

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Remove from the heat and let stand for 1 minute; the shrimp will finish cooking in the residual heat of the pan. (If they’re not opaque and pink, return to low heat to ensure the shrimp are fully cooked.) Taste, and season with more salt, if needed. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately from the skillet or in a large shallow dish with the crusty bread for dipping into the sauce and lemon wedges for squeezing over top.

Substitutions: Dry sherry >> brandy or dry white wine. Want to make it nonalcoholic? >> Omit the sherry and add more lemon juice to taste.

Nutrition per serving (about 9 shrimp with sauce and bread): 537 calories, 43g carbohydrates, 0mg cholesterol, 29g fat, 0g fiber, 23g protein, 4g saturated fat, 800mg sodium, 2g sugar

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

Adapted from “A Couple Cooks: 100 Recipes to Cook Together” by Sonja and Alex Overhiser (Chronicle Books, 2024).

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