Recipe: Chilled Shrimp & Tomato

This is a very simple shrimp dish that I made last night. I served it hot. It was good. I refrigerated the leftovers and ate them cold for lunch today. It was even tastier served chilled, and I think that's how I'll serve this dish in the future.

Ingredients
20 jumbo shrimp
4 small, flavorful tomatoes
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup half-and-half
1/2 a fresh lemon
freshly-ground black pepper
(salt)

Preparation

1. Peel and dice the tomatoes. Toss them well in a colander to get rid of most seeds and juice, then leave them to drain more in the colander.
2. Peel, de-vein, and remove tails from shrimp.
3. Coarsely chop the onions.
4. Chop the garlic.
5. Thoroughly juice the 1/2-lemon and remove the seeds but retain the pulp and juice in a bowl.
6. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide pan.
7. Add the onions and coat them with the oil. Saute for several minutes. Do not allow onions to brown.
8. Add the garlic and continue to saute for a few minutes more, not allowing mixture to brown.
9. When onions are glossy, limp, and yellow, add some pepper, and the tomatoes, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Increase heat only slightly, if necessary.
10. Add the shrimp, continuing to saute.
11. When shrimp are almost pink, stir in the Parmesan cheese and cook for a minute or two.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in half-and-half. Keep stirring. Don't let sauce boil too much or the consistency can be too thick and/or grainy.
13. Reduce flame to very low (if electric stove, remove from heat) and stir in lemon juice and pulp.
14. Season with salt if necessary.
15. Serve chilled.

Notes
This dish might also work if you were to add one of the following: salt-packed capers, fresh rosemary, fresh dill, or fresh basil. It should also go well with cucumber. You can take a shortcut and use cooked, frozen shrimp; just wait a little longer to add them, and take care not to overcook them.