shrimp scampi pasta

Shrimp Scampi (with Yellow Lemon & Cherry Tomato) Pasta

This is another favourite pasta dish of mine. If you ever notice, I don't like pasta with cream sauce. I personally think that cream is too rich and too creamy for any savoury dishes. (To me, aromatic creamy food is good for dessert.) I like my pasta cooked very light and summery. (I, sometimes, cook creamy pasta for the kids though as they love it!) The heaviest pasta dish that I ever cook for myself is/was with beef or lamb. (Heavy with protein not with cream.)

Anyway, I cooked this "Shrimp Scampi Pasta" last week. This pasta dish is very  aromatic and delightful. The yellow lemon really brings out the best flavour of the shrimp. In Thailand, it is impossible to find fresh "Scampi/Langoustine". Therefore, I substituted it with fresh "Tiger Prawn" but I do like a word "Scampi". So, I keep its name in my recipe. You can cook it without tomato but I happen to love tomato. So, I put a lot of tomatoes in there. (Italian sun-dried tomato is also a good choice.)

Find below my simple recipe of "Shrimp Scampi Pasta". Its very refreshing but filling.

1 pound of dried pasta (Long form pasta ; Linguini, Capellini or Spaghetti)

16 medium / 8 big Tiger Prawns, peeled, de-veined and cleaned 

4 cloves of organic Garlic, finely chopped or grated

1 cup of organic Tomato, roughly chopped (Cherry Tomato is as good / halved.)

1/4 cup of Shrimp Stock or White Wine

1/2 Yellow Lemon, juiced (Slice the 2nd half and keep one side for garnish.)

4-5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tablespoons of Red Chili flakes

2-3 tablespoons of unsalted Butter, cut into cubes

Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper 

For Garnish

1/2 Yellow Lemon, sliced (Lemon Zest if you prefer.)

Flat-leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
Italian Basil Leaves, roughly chopped (Optional) 

Grated (Parmigiano-Reggiano) Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add plenty of salt. Add pasta, cook till al dente. Drain and return to the pot

Set a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and chopped garlic, fry till aromatic. Add tiger prawn, lemon juice, red chili flakes, sea salt,  black pepper and 1/2 of butter. Stir-fry very quickly to combine everything well. Remove the prawn and keep one side. (Be careful not to over cook the prawns. If they turn pink, they are already cooked.) In the same saucepan, with remaining sauce, add white wine or shrimp stock. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add back the prawns, lemon slices, tomatoes and 2nd half of the butter. Taste if more seasoning is needed.  Add pasta and toss to combine with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Turn off the heat. Remove into serving plates and serve immediately.

Serve : 4

spaghetti aglio olio e pepercino

Spaghetti AOP with Shimeji Mushroom.

As I mentioned in my last post that this month is a month of pasta. Therefore, I will post only pasta recipes. (I know that some of you prefer to read only Thai recipes in my blog but, at times, I am bored. I need distraction. Please, bear with me.)

Anyway, to me, Spaghetti AOP (Aglio Olio e Pepercino) is way too easy. I seriously think that it doesn't require any skills. Any (grown-up) one could be able to cook it. I personally like to cook it when I feel very lazy and I want a meal ready in 5 to 10 minutes. If you want to cook to impress someone with less effort this dish is the dish. All you have to do is to add "Mushroom" and/or "Shrimp". I choose "Shimeji" Mushroom because I like the way it presents itself on the plate. I really think this mushroom looks very clean, elegant and tasteful.

Find below my recipe which is inspired & combined by a few recipes from "The Silver Spoon - Pasta" Cookbook.

1 pound of dried Spaghetti or Capellini (Any kind of pasta that you like but I prefer long form pasta for this recipe.) 

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Use the best quality that you could afford.)

1-2 tablespoons of organic Garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh organic Red Chili, chopped & de-seeded (You can always use dried chili flakes.)

1 cup of Shimeji Mushroom, cleaned

Sea Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper 

For Garnish 

Fresh flat-leaf Parsley, roughly chopped 

Grated (Parmigiano-Reggiano) Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add plenty of salt. Add pasta, cook till al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

Set a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil. Add garlic and red chili and cook till garlic is lightly browned. Add mushroom, sauté for a few minutes. Add a dash of sea salt and black pepper. Add cooked pasta and toss. Taste if more seasoning is needed. Sprinkle with chopped flat-leaf parsley, stir to mix well. Remove into serving plates. Sprinkle, if you like, with some grated parmigiano reggiano cheese (Some people like it plain without cheese.) Serve immediately.

Serve : 4-6

martha stewart's beef ragu with pasta recipe

Beef Ragù with Pasta (Recipe by Martha Stewart)

Once in a while, if I happen to find time, I like to experiment recipes from my cookbooks collection. This month (and last month) happens to be a month of "Pasta". For some good reason, I crave for pasta and I have tried many recipes from my favourite cookbooks ; "The Silver Spoon - Pasta", "The River Cafe - Classic Italian" and "Martha Stewart's" (She is actually not that much of my favourite but I guess I am brain-washed by watching her TV programs 4 days in every week for over a year now).

Anyway, last week, one of my very best mates came for dinner. I was in mood of cooking. So, I cooked her a 3-course-dinner. She was all happy and satisfied with my cooking skill. I opened a few decent bottles of "Merlot" for her and the evening was absolutely divine. Our main course was "Beef Ragù with Penne" (Bangkok was very cold last week. Its 18-19 degrees Celsius. Therefore, I think it was very appropriate to cook a winter dish.) The dish was very hearty and delicious. I personally think that it would be even better if I served it with "Chianti" but unfortunately, I didn't have any "Chianti" on hand that night.

This original recipe is picked from Martha's website as, to me, it feels very home-cooked, very easy, & very simple (It matches my cooking concept perfectly.). Find below a recipe of Martha's which is modified a little by me.

Beef Rump (Beef pieces for Stew - about 3 pounds)

Sea Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

3 medium Onions, halved, then cut crosswise into slices

4 cloves of Garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1 pound of Cremini Mushroom, sliced (If you can't find Cremini, Champignon  Mushroom will do - I think they are almost the same type of mushroom.)

3 tablespoons of fresh Oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 can (28 ounces) Italian Tomatoes with juices, whole peeled 

2 cups of dry Red Wine

1/2 teaspoon of Red Pepper flakes

1 pound of Penne or other Tubular pasta

For Garnish

Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese, shaved
Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped 

Preparation

Season the beef pieces with sea salt and black pepper. 

Set a large cast-iron-casserole (mine is a lovely blue colour from Le Creuset.) over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, and then brown the beef pieces on all sides. When the beef is done, remove from the casserole and keep one side.

In the same casserole, add sliced onion, stir till cooked through. Add garlic, mushroom, oregano and salt, stir for a few minutes. Add red wine and red pepper flakes. Return the beef pieces into the casserole and add tomato mixture. Braise till the beef is fork-tender, about 4 hours.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add plenty of salt. Add pasta, cook till al dente. Drain and return to the pot. 

Toss pasta with the sauce, transfer to serving plates. Top with pieces of beef, garnish with shaved Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese. Sprinkle with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or fresh oregano.

Serve : 4-6