We are hitting the part of the summer where the basket no longer feels like a foreign creature. It was weird, being one of your friendly happy CSA workers, to hand out baskets without the normal question - "What is this?". For the last few weeks, I thought about creating a board that was labeled 'Weekly Question'. I believe I have even shocked a few members with answering their question before they asked. Sorry! I enjoy answering those questions. I love being helpful, if we didn't we wouldn't be working for you guys.
This week, with a table full of tomatoes and garlic, and our basil plant fully grown, I could make my family favorite. "Shrimp Scampi". In my household, that is what what we call it but it really isn't true "Shrimp Scampi". Scroll down to the bottom to find the quick recipe for ‘Harvest Shrimp Scampi’.
Many years ago when Food Network was full of cooking shows teaching you how to cook instead of the competitions, I watched a show about healthier meals. Don't get me wrong, I completely love Food Network to this day, but it was certainly a different channel back then. This show is long gone, this recipe is no longer on the Food Network website, and I have heavily edited it over the years.
Here is my secret to cooking, don't follow the recipe! OH MY GOD! Did she just say do not follow the recipe?!? Hold onto your seats, cell phones, or tablets. This woman has gone crazy! I use a recipe as a foundation. An idea. That is one of the most important things you can learn when cooking. That you can make everything work. This recipe is perfect for this. Over the years I have missed one or two ingredients and I have shifted it into something that worked. Crystal. --
What do you need?
Garlic
Basil
Tomatoes
Shrimp
Red Pepper Flakes
Egg Noodles
That's it. On any given day, you can have all of these in your house - even in the dead of winter during a storm. I have used garlic from a jar, dried basil, and any form of red pepper powder. This recipe is flexible. We always have frozen shrimp in our fridge and egg noodles in our cabinet. Since this has become a family favorite, frozen shrimp is always brought when its on sale - which it is semi regularly. Scroll down for quick recipe.
First goal:Cut Basil, Tomatoes, and Garlic down into smaller pieces. Usually - "the size I would like for a sauce". If you want a chunky sauce, just leave them bigger. If you want something small, use a food processor.
Basil- I use a knife and make it into inch long strands. Most professional chefs will tell you not to use a knife on basil because it begins browning it. I have never seen this issue happen, but I also rarely keep my basil hanging waiting long.
Garlic- This is Scampi. You are using a lot of garlic. You can make it stronger or weaker, whatever you prefer. The garlic we are getting in our shares is on the sweeter side. I am personally in love with it, but you may need use a little more than with other garlics. I use around 7 cloves. Sometimes we only have one or two cloves, if we are lucky, and I have added in minced garlic from the jar and garlic powder . I have minced, chopped, sliced, and smashed the garlic over the years. I prefer chopped - mainly because I love the taste of the little tiny garlic bits after they have been cooked.
Shrimp- Defrost it. We have cooked it both with the tails on and off. I prefer to remove tails, mainly because I don't want to do it later when I am eating.
Tomatoes- Chop these up. Make them smaller. They will cook down some. You will see, from my pictures later, that my tomatoes - directly from our green bins - decided that they really wanted to cook down and become more like a sauce. These were rather hearty tomatoes. Everything has a mind of its own.
Egg Noodles- FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Maybe take a minute less, but the directions on pasta boxes tell you the truth. They are not lying to you.
Red Pepper Flakes- If you don't do spicy, REMOVE THIS. It will not ruin the dish. Over the years I have moved away from Red Pepper Flakes - mainly because my mother eats them like they are going out of style and we rarely have it in the house. This time I used "Deathwish in Spades!!!" by Auntie Arwen Spicess. I have met 'Auntie Arwen' in person, and she is always helpful. They do a lot of local craft fairs and Ren Faires at the North Haven Fairgrounds - brought to us by ctrenfaire.com - there is another one in October. I try to find excuses to use their seasoned mixes.
The original recipe said put oil and garlic in pan to start. Two minutes later, add in tomatoes and shrimp. Two minutes later add in the basil and then pasta. Done. Nowadays, it takes me about 15 minutes to make. I cook the oil and garlic long enough so that the oil is favored by it. I do the same with the spice. When I know that it ready, I then add in the tomatoes and cook this for a few minutes. Usually the shrimp I use is precooked so I only cook it until I am sure it is warmed all the way through, then finally I put in the pasta and basil. You can just mixed it inside my large pan and served from there.
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