.jpg)
I find it very intriguing to just "put together" a meal. What I mean is, you may have one key ingredient that you know you are going to work with that evening but, you have no idea how you want to use it. Last night I had some fresh shrimp, Key West Red's, in the fridge. I took them out and laid them on the counter. Then I picked up some garlic, a leek, a dried cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and some tomatoes. I opened the pantry door and a box of pasta fell out! What did that tell me? OK, let's have a pasta and shrimp dinner! I did have my pasta dinner but many more ingredients went into the pot before the dish hit the plate.
.jpg)
But first, as I always do before starting my preparations, I pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge. A nice white chilled Aveleda Vinho Verde kept me company while preparing my shrimp pasta. I have really been enjoying these Portuguese wines this summer. Of course I picked up this one because it was on sale AND the label looked very lovely. Aveleda is produced by Quinto da Aveleda in the region of Vinho Verde. It is a combination of Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto and Azal grapes. The alcohol content is only 10.5% which makes it a nice wine for summer sipping. This was a nice clear, bright wine with gentle aromas of fresh fruit which followed smoothly and delicate on the palate. This one did not have as much effervescence as the Pavo I had the other night, but it still had a nice crisp, bright flavor to it. Very enjoyable!
So I started my sauce for the shrimp pasta with the ingredients shown, but ended up adding fresh herbs from my container garden, white wine, a shallot, a pinch of sugar and butter. So easy to assemble and all of these ingredients, while cooking, filled our house with mouthwatering aromas! I am going to give you this version of shrimp pasta, but hey, do like me and just add whatever you may have in your fridge and pantry to make it your special dish!
.jpg)
Deb's Throw Together Shrimp Pasta
Olive oil
1 sliced leek
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1 chopped dried pepper
1 shallot chopped
1 little bunch of fresh parsley chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
A pinch of sugar
1 little bunch of thyme and oregano chopped
1 glass of while wine
1 big plop of butter
Fresh shrimp shelled and deveined
Enough spaghetti pasta for 2 cooked
Basically I just sauteed the leek, garlic, shallot and pepper in the olive oil with a grind or 2 of sea salt for a few moments. Then I added the herbs, sugar, tomatoes and white wine. I let all of this simmer for about 7-10 minutes. Then I added the shrimp till they were cooked and then put in the butter at the end to make it a bit creamy. Cook the pasta, drain, add shrimp mixture and serve. So easy and so tasty for a quick summer supper!
I would surely enjoy hearing some of your "throw together" dinners that you whip up at the end of the day with whatever you have in your pantry!
Cheers!
8 comments:
I love throwing together meals like this--partly because it's just fun to do [and often gives you the chance to use up whatever's in the fridge]. But more than that, it's a sign of having reached the next level in the kitchen, not needing to depend on recipes all the time, but having built up enough technique and flavor know-how to create something on the spot. This sounds like a delicious example!
Thrown together or planned this shrimp dish sounds delicious. Please do join the Weekend Cookbook Challenge! Diane Kochilas has a cooking school on the island of Ikaria in Greece. It is only open during the summer months because she lives in Athens the rest of the year. She also does market tours in Athens when she is there. I wanted to go in May when it was less crowded and a little cooler so opted for the school on Kea. I am very glad I did because it was a wonderful experience that I would not trade for anything!!! I have not been to Diana's classes of course, as they may also be truly special!!!
Hi terry b - thanks for the nice comment. It does challenge the ol brain cells, which is not a bad thing at all.
Hey Valli, you are so lucky to have had the opportunity to go to that cooking school. I have not been to any cooking schools, but it is on my list of things I surely would like to do.
Particularly love the idea of leek in this dish. :)
You certainly are loving those green wines just now! I've discovered that we don't have much of a selection of them over here. Will keep looking though.
Deb, this shrimp recipe looks and sounds absolutely to die for delicious! Perhaps I could just pop by for lunch, if you have any left over? :-) I was looking at wines yesterday, and I became so overwhelmed with the choices that I ended up not buying a single bottle. I am truly hopeless, but I've definitely been inspired by you to learn more about wine.
Wendy, aren't leeks just another great invention of Mother Nature!
Belinda, I do hope I can help you in the wine education department. My biggest advice? Start trying some of the lighter white's. Get your palate used to those and then move on from there. There is a whole world of taste waiting just for you out there!
Thanks a million for being my wine advisor, Deb...I'm taking your suggestions to heart and that is exactly what I am going to keep my eye out for on my next wine shopping trip. Oh, and the donkeys are Jake (the darker colored one, and Pierre, the lighter one, both just as comical and sweet as can be. Thank you for asking about them. :-)
Belinda - Glad to help out and Jake and Pierre are sooo sweet!
Post a Comment