The comments on Epicurious raved about this recipe. I thought it was good enough but wouldn't make it again. The difference may well have been the sun-dried tomatoes.Mostly, sun-dried tomatoes are either packed in oil or dessicated discs. A local supermarket (for St. Louisans, Dierbergs) has no-oil sun-dried tomatoes in the produce section, still fat and plump and full of flavor. At $8 a pound, they're pricey but addictively delicious.
So this dish might be worth a good rave if oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes were used. It's worth a try!
NUTRITION NOTES
- I've learned to allow 2 ounces of dried pasta a serving. It's plenty, especially when a serving includes lots of vegetables and flavor and so is both filling and satisfying.
- Nearly all other sources -- an exception is Eating Well -- presume a 4 ounce serving. What do other cooks allow? I'm curious!
- I'm very sad that my local supermarket has stopped stocking Dreamfields low-carb, low-glycemic pasta which tastes like 'real' pasta and is life-changing for carb watchers. (2008 Good news! Amazon now sells Dreamfields Pasta.)
NEXT TIME It seems that whenever a 'quick' pasta supper is in order, it's time to eat and everything but the pasta is ready so you spend 10 or 20 minutes holding supper and toe-tapping around while starving. Tonight I started with HOT tap water and it seemed to definitely cut off a few important minutes. (2008: I've started boiling water in the tea kettle for pasta water: much much faster.)
VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more asparagus recipes ~
~ more main dish recipes with piles of vegetables ~
~ more asparagus recipes ~
~ more main dish recipes with piles of vegetables ~
PASTA with SHRIMP, ASPARAGUS & SUN-DRIED TOMATO
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 4
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 4
Hot, salted water
8 ounces pasta
1 pound asparagus, steamed & cut in two-inch lengths
1 tablespoons olive oil (use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes if they're oil-packed)
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut in ribbons
Sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese for garnish
Bring the salted pasta water to boil. Cook pasta according to instructions. Steam asparagus.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM HIGH until shimmery. Add the tomatoes, shrimp, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook til shrimp are just opaque, stirring frequently and adjusting heat as necessary. Transfer shrimp mixture to large bowl. Using the same skillet, add the broth, wine and tomato paste and cook until just beginning to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Add sauce, asparagus and cooked pasta to the shrimp mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the basil. Transfer to four serving plates and top each serving with fresh Parmesan.
KITCHEN NOTES
This is my final contribution to Asparagus Aspirations over at Seriously Good -- it's a wonderful source for every-day ideas about cooking asparagus. Thank you, Kevin, for an asparagus showcase!PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.
NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2006
Your Comments:
I love the asparagus-shrimp- basil combination, and those spirals are so cute!
Catherine - Aren't spirals the coolest? And they slurp great ...
Jennifer - The sun-dried tomatoes that I get are pretty special - they're dried but still fat and happy and plump and moist, not the dessicated things you find so often (which I forgo).
Erika - Yes it'd be worth finding sun-dried tomatoes. They're very handy to have on hand for last-minute dishes.
I came across your blog, while I was looking for recipes Asparagus. You have wonderful recipes. I have couple of questions
I'm strictly vegetarian, what type of vegetable I can use instead of shrimp
Can I use italian seasoning instead of oregano.
Thanks a lot for ur instant reply. I had yellow pepper in my fridge, so used that and onions and pinch of redpepper flakes for little heat and lemon juice. It turned out really tasty, I will post it in my blog soon:). BTW I live in Virginia, USA:. Will try with tofu next time.
Links to this post:
Create a Link