On Sundays I like to spend time in the kitchen. It's an opportunity for me to unwind and relax and make a meal that will have a couple of portions left over for a relaxed dinner on Mondays.
I saw this recipe over at Annie's Eats and I immediately gravitated towards it because it had only a few simple ingredients and looked like a light summer supper. We don't eat a lot of fish at home but often have shrimp on hand and I really like how it was the star of this meal. I made the pasta from scratch and tossed it with this light butter-lemon sauce and it was a hit. Unfortunately, it was such a hit, that there weren't any leftovers!
Ingredients
3/4 lb. linguine (try to make homemade like this)
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3-4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a saute pan, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for one minute.
Add the shrimp in an even layer and add salt and pepper. Once down side of shrimp turns pink, flip and cook second side evenly.
When shrimp is opaque, remove pan from heat and stir in the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.
Drain pasta and add to the saute pan and toss to combine.
I was recently given a gift certificate for Indigo and I knew exactly what I wanted to buy -- a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. For years, I have enjoyed watching her on the Food Network for her simple, classic recipes and she always just looks so happy cooking! Though I guess if I had her kitchen in the Hamptons, I might too!
Anyway, so I just got two of her books in the mail and they are beautiful. Nice glossy pages with beautiful photos and I was immediately inspired to make three dishes of hers and they were all easy and full of flavour.
The first I made was the summer garden pasta. Angel hair pasta topped with a simple mixture of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil and garlic. You had to marinade the sauce for a few hours before so all the flavours infused together and it smelled like nothing else. I couldn't wait to eat this one!
