So Many Dishes

I made a new recipe, but I made one change that had only a minor effect on the dish itself, but which made the title completely inaccurate.

With Ken on a low-acid diet, tomatoes are off the menu. As a result, we haven’t had any pasta dishes the past few weeks. However, Ken discovered a recipe that fit his dietary limitations, and we decided to try it.

The dish is called linguine shrimp, and the recipe is from Taste of Home Mediterranean Made Easy. The sauce has no tomatoes, instead relying on roasted peppers, olives and feta for the sauce.

What made the title inaccurate for my version was using a different pasta. We rarely cook an entire pound of pasta anymore. Plus, our usual choice is either regular or thin spaghetti. Whatever is left in a package after I’ve taken out the amount I’m going to cook goes into a tall storage container. That container was almost full, so we had spaghetti shrimp rather than linguine shrimp.

Aside from omitting the onion, because Ken can’t eat it at the moment, I made one other intentional change and one unintentional. Instead of the canned ripe olives included in the recipe, I used Kalamata olives. California ripe black olives, to my mind, aren’t appropriate for a Mediterranean dish. This book doesn’t claim that the recipes are authentic, so I don’t have any qualms about making changes.

The unintentional charge happened because I didn’t read the recipe carefully. I made the assumption that it called for one pound of shrimp. No, it actually calls for two pounds! There’s no way that there would have been enough sauce for that much shrimp and a full pound of pasta.

The dish comes together very quickly, so having all the ingredients ready really helps. I had everything on hand, and the sauce and pasta finished at the same time. The drained pasta plus some of the cooking liquid is added to the sauce, so I made the shrimp and sauce in my wok pan.

This is my version, which I’m calling Mediterranean Shrimp and Pasta

Mediterranean Shrimp and Pasta

• 8 ounces spaghetti or other long pasta
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olive, sliced
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup white wine or vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat, add sauté the shrimp until they turn pink. Add garlic, and cook one minute longer. Reduce the heat to medium; stir in the roasted peppers, olives, parsley, wine, salt, oregano, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta and reserved water to the pan. Stir in the feta and lemon juice; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

I made a tossed salad to serve on the side; I added some tomato to mine. We really enjoyed this recipe, and I hope to add this to recipe rotation.

Happy eating!