I guess it's called shrimp scampi. . .
It is definitely fall today! The last couple of days have gotten into the warm side, but today I woke up to dark clouds and rain (what d'ya know, the weatherman was right on for once!), and it is 52 degrees in the house. . . Definitely time to start thinking about digging the space heaters out of the shed.
About once a month, I like to make something with shrimp. Our local grocery store usually has fresh, wild caught shrimp (I don't even want to start in on how bad farmed shrimp are for you), which can be pretty cheap at the beginning of the month. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby (my all time favorite store!), you can get high quality shrimp for a decent price, but whatever shrimp you wind up getting, they'll still taste good.
I thought I had made this recipe up one day, but apparently people have been eating my version of shrimp, garlic and pasta for a lot longer than I've been alive, and they called it shrimp scampi, sooo. . . fine. I guess it's shrimp scampi. Sounds a lot better than what I was calling it: Garlic, olive oil, pasta and shrimp :-P He he he . Just goes to show that good ideas are good ideas, regardless of who comes up with them.
Ingredients: This will make four servings with app. 10 shrimp per person
1 pound white shrimp, uncooked, tail on (41-50 p. lb)
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine or dry sherry
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Dash of marjoram/parsley (dried)
Cooked Angel Hair Pasta or Spaghetti (We're big pasta eaters here, so I usually use a whole 16 oz. for four people and save whatever's left)
Put your water on to boil for the pasta, crack a little salt and drip a little oil into the water. In a large pan, combine the oil, butter and garlic. Let this sit cold while you do the next tasks. Now rinse your shrimp very, very well. If your shrimp is slightly slimy, rinse it in a colander under cold water until it is no longer slimy (don't use hot water). The seafood counter guy should have already slit the back of the shells for you; you can then very easily slip the shell off, ending with the tail which you can give a little pinch then pull (put the shells directly into a trash bag to be taken outside asap, they will make the house smell). If the shells have not been slit for you, then you'll have to either decide to use a knife and do it yourself, which isn't too time consuming, or plan ahead and buy a different kind of shrimp. **Note: if you are buying already cooked shrimp, then you will add the shrimp to the cooking sauce last, cook it just long enough to warm all the way through, then serve it immediately. Shrimp will overcook very fast, and be tough and chewy.
When the shrimp are all peeled, give them a final rinse in the colander, then give them a general patting down with a paper towel. Don't start cooking the shrimp until the water for the pasta is at a rolling boil. When the water is boiling, turn the pan for the shrimp on medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir the garlic around a bit, dash the marjoram and/or parsley in, add the shrimp and coat with the oil and butter mixture. Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Add the sherry or wine to the shrimp, and bring to a simmer. The shrimp will turn pink, don't ask me why, it's some reaction the zinc in the shrimp has to the heat, and you will want to stop cooking them when the last one has turned completely pink. Don't overcook your shrimp, or you will miss the buttery tenderness of the fresh shrimp you bought. Remove the shrimp from the sauce with a slotted spoon, and reserve in a bowl on the side.
When the pasta is done, drain it very well, and plop it into the sauce mixture. You can crack some salt and pepper over this if you want. Medium heat, stir the pasta until it is coated with the sauce, and let it sit for a miute or two. With a pasta fork, serve pasta on plates, then top with shrimp.
Serve with garlic bread and a side salad.
***By the way, for those of you who gasp at all of the olive oil and butter and salt used in these recipes, relax. Olive oil is high in calories, yes, but it is the perfect fat for your body. If you will take the steps to eliminate processed foods from your diet, anything with trans fats, lard, high fructose corn syrup, refined white flour, and 80% of your sources of animal fat, then you can afford to step up on the food scale with moderate amounts of butter, olive oil, and salt.
Now, there is a difference between the salt I use and the salt you're thinking of, I'm sure. Regular, iodized table salt is not pure salt. In fact, it is mineral salt, mixed with aluminum silicate or another non-caking agent (which happens to be bitter), and a sweetner, to make up for the bitterness of the non-caking agent. These additives make your salt less salty, which makes you use a lot more of it, raising the sodium levels in your food almost to the same height as some processed meats! All natural, kosher sea salt, however, is pure salt, and only a crack or two of the salt grinder provides you with as much saltiness as you could possibly want, and you are using much, much less of it. All of the natural minerals are still included in this salt as well, so you get some extra healthiness added in.
If you are taking a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, which the American Medical Association is now highly recommending all Americans do (due to the vitamin deficiencies in the over used soil, mass produced crops, and recycled water used by most commercial farmers nowadays) you don't need to worry about iodine deficiency, so that is another reason out the window for using ordinary table salt.
Enjoy your Friday food!
About once a month, I like to make something with shrimp. Our local grocery store usually has fresh, wild caught shrimp (I don't even want to start in on how bad farmed shrimp are for you), which can be pretty cheap at the beginning of the month. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby (my all time favorite store!), you can get high quality shrimp for a decent price, but whatever shrimp you wind up getting, they'll still taste good.
I thought I had made this recipe up one day, but apparently people have been eating my version of shrimp, garlic and pasta for a lot longer than I've been alive, and they called it shrimp scampi, sooo. . . fine. I guess it's shrimp scampi. Sounds a lot better than what I was calling it: Garlic, olive oil, pasta and shrimp :-P He he he . Just goes to show that good ideas are good ideas, regardless of who comes up with them.
Ingredients: This will make four servings with app. 10 shrimp per person
1 pound white shrimp, uncooked, tail on (41-50 p. lb)
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine or dry sherry
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Dash of marjoram/parsley (dried)
Cooked Angel Hair Pasta or Spaghetti (We're big pasta eaters here, so I usually use a whole 16 oz. for four people and save whatever's left)
Put your water on to boil for the pasta, crack a little salt and drip a little oil into the water. In a large pan, combine the oil, butter and garlic. Let this sit cold while you do the next tasks. Now rinse your shrimp very, very well. If your shrimp is slightly slimy, rinse it in a colander under cold water until it is no longer slimy (don't use hot water). The seafood counter guy should have already slit the back of the shells for you; you can then very easily slip the shell off, ending with the tail which you can give a little pinch then pull (put the shells directly into a trash bag to be taken outside asap, they will make the house smell). If the shells have not been slit for you, then you'll have to either decide to use a knife and do it yourself, which isn't too time consuming, or plan ahead and buy a different kind of shrimp. **Note: if you are buying already cooked shrimp, then you will add the shrimp to the cooking sauce last, cook it just long enough to warm all the way through, then serve it immediately. Shrimp will overcook very fast, and be tough and chewy.
When the shrimp are all peeled, give them a final rinse in the colander, then give them a general patting down with a paper towel. Don't start cooking the shrimp until the water for the pasta is at a rolling boil. When the water is boiling, turn the pan for the shrimp on medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir the garlic around a bit, dash the marjoram and/or parsley in, add the shrimp and coat with the oil and butter mixture. Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Add the sherry or wine to the shrimp, and bring to a simmer. The shrimp will turn pink, don't ask me why, it's some reaction the zinc in the shrimp has to the heat, and you will want to stop cooking them when the last one has turned completely pink. Don't overcook your shrimp, or you will miss the buttery tenderness of the fresh shrimp you bought. Remove the shrimp from the sauce with a slotted spoon, and reserve in a bowl on the side.
When the pasta is done, drain it very well, and plop it into the sauce mixture. You can crack some salt and pepper over this if you want. Medium heat, stir the pasta until it is coated with the sauce, and let it sit for a miute or two. With a pasta fork, serve pasta on plates, then top with shrimp.
Serve with garlic bread and a side salad.
***By the way, for those of you who gasp at all of the olive oil and butter and salt used in these recipes, relax. Olive oil is high in calories, yes, but it is the perfect fat for your body. If you will take the steps to eliminate processed foods from your diet, anything with trans fats, lard, high fructose corn syrup, refined white flour, and 80% of your sources of animal fat, then you can afford to step up on the food scale with moderate amounts of butter, olive oil, and salt.
Now, there is a difference between the salt I use and the salt you're thinking of, I'm sure. Regular, iodized table salt is not pure salt. In fact, it is mineral salt, mixed with aluminum silicate or another non-caking agent (which happens to be bitter), and a sweetner, to make up for the bitterness of the non-caking agent. These additives make your salt less salty, which makes you use a lot more of it, raising the sodium levels in your food almost to the same height as some processed meats! All natural, kosher sea salt, however, is pure salt, and only a crack or two of the salt grinder provides you with as much saltiness as you could possibly want, and you are using much, much less of it. All of the natural minerals are still included in this salt as well, so you get some extra healthiness added in.
If you are taking a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, which the American Medical Association is now highly recommending all Americans do (due to the vitamin deficiencies in the over used soil, mass produced crops, and recycled water used by most commercial farmers nowadays) you don't need to worry about iodine deficiency, so that is another reason out the window for using ordinary table salt.
Enjoy your Friday food!
posted by Therese_Rose_Morning at 9:45 AM
1 Comments:
These seems like a recipe I should definitely try out. By the way, Therese, lovely blog here. One doesn't get bored reading your thoughts.
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