Shrimp Shell Stock

For cooking seafood-flavored rices and pastas, my favorite liquid is a store-bought fish stock or clam juice I’ve enhanced with the toasty nuttiness of sautéed shrimp shells. If you can get shrimp with their heads on (try Chinese or other ethnic markets), they will intensify the stock’s flavor still further. Whenever you are peeling shrimp or cooking a lobster, save the shells; keep them in a zipper-lock bag in the freezer so you can make stock at whim.