Saturday, July 25, 2009

Top Shrimp Pasta Recipes By Isabel Da Silva

In a traditional Italian menu, pasta is never the main course of a meal. A pasta dish is served as primi piatti (1st course) and will be followed by a secondi piatti (second course), which can be meat or fish accompanied by some side dish such as vegetables. Sometimes, when a go to a good Italian restaurant, I try to eat in the traditional Italian way. So, I order some pasta as first course and then some meat or fish. The problem is that after I eat my pasta dish I'm already full and I cannot eat more fish or meat. For me, pasta dishes make a great complete meal, specially if prepared with some meat, chicken or seafood. Actually the great advantage of a pasta dish is: it can be quickly and easily prepared and you have a complete meal. Not to forget the uncountable variations of pasta recipes that there are available.

I personally love the combination of pasta and seafood, specially shrimp pasta dishes. Fortunately my family loves them too, because I prepare shrimp pasta recipes again and again. A very important thing that should be paid attention when preparing any dish with shrimps is not to overcook them. The simple rule is - once the shrimps turn red, they are ready.

Below, I've put together some shrimp pasta recipes that I've already tested and approved. I hope you like them too.

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo

Ingredients:

40 small shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 tablespoons diced onion
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
4 sprigs fresh parsley
4 slices lemon, for garnish

Directions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Saute onion and garlic over medium heat until tender. Add shrimp and saute over high heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in half-and-half. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Place pasta in a serving dish, and cover with shrimp sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper and Parmesan cheese. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

Shrimps with Stir-Fried Noodles

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 ounces Chinese noodle
2 green onions, cut in 2 cm pieces
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine
8 ounces frozen green peas
1 red chili, chopped
Salt and Cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook noodle as directed on package. Drain, rinse in cold water, add a few drops oil and mix to keep from sticking. Set aside. Heat the oil in a Wok. Add shrimps, green onions, and garlic; cook and stir until shrimps turn red. Add green peas and stir for 1 minute. Stir in rice wine and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Add noodle, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the noodles with the chopped red chili. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Spaghetti with Arugula and Basil

Ingredients:

9 ounce Spaghetti
7 ounce medium shrimps peeled and deveined
11 ounce cherry tomatoes, make a cut but not so deep enough to separate it into halves
5 large cloves garlic, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
5 ounce arugula
1 ounce fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling lightly salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, stir in garlic for 2 minutes, add shrimps, salt and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes or until they turn red. Remove with a slotted spoon and and set aside. Leave the garlic in the frying pan. Add in the same frying pan the cherry tomatoes and cook them, stirring frequently until they get soft and a little bit sauce is formed (but the tomatoes should not melt completely). Add the shrimp, stirring for 1 minute. Reduce heat, add arugula and basil, stir quickly. Remove from heat. Drain pasta and mix with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your meal!

Do you also like shrimp pasta? Do you want more shrimp pasta recipe ideas? Just click here: http://www.weloveseafood.com/ShrimpPastaRecipes.html

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Angry Pasta - Pasta All'Arrabbiata By Peter Alfieri

"Pasta all'arrabbiata" translated from Italian to English means: "Angry Pasta." Nicely said, Italians have been known for their intensely spirited temperament, this Angry Pasta reflects this same passion. Picture (if you will), that you are personified as this pasta and you lost your job, wife, dog, and someone stole your red Alfa Romeo convertible; you express your feelings by being, spicy, hot, and RED! This is the best explanation I can give for the Italians naming this Angry Pasta, because it lives up to it's name. Give this fantastically spicy pasta a try and see for yourself exactly what the Italians had in mind when they named this dish. I can say that this recipe is one of the fastest pasta dishes to make.

The speed of preparation is only dependent on the time it takes to cook the pasta, I suppose if you use fresh/home made pasta you could eat much sooner. Either way...

Difficulty (Scale from 1-10): 3Ingredients

one 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
salt - to taste
one pound of cooked pasta

PreparationIn a large bowl whisk together tomato paste, olive oil, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and Romano cheese.

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Add cooked pasta to the tomato paste mixture and toss well, making sure all of the pasta is coated well. Add more cheese or salt to taste, then serve.

Enjoy your pasta!!

Peter Alfieri is the host of the cooking show: Buon Appetito Providence, http://www.BuonAppetitoProvidence.com Pete cooks many different foods from several geographical areas; his specialty is Italian food which is also featured on the TV show. Be sure to check out other recipes on the show's website.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Best Marinara Sauce By Tammy Matthews

Here is what you'll need:

- a large pot (preferably with a nonstick surface)
- 8 cloves of fresh garlic
- salt (I use sea salt)
- ~1 tsp. black pepper (freshly ground is nice)
- ~1 tsp. oregano
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 handfuls of fresh basil leaves torn into pieces (grow it in the summer and freeze it)
- ~3/4 cup fresh or grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cans (28oz.) of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans (28oz.) of plum tomatoes
- ~1-2 lbs. of freshly ground hot Italian sausage

Turn on burner to med-low. Simply, coat the bottom of your pot with about 1/4 inch of extra virgin olive oil. Using a garlic press add the cloves to the pan. Allow garlic to soften (don't burn). Use a wooden spoon to stir. Add all of the cans of tomatoes. Add about one can of water
for each can of tomatoes. If you like a really thick sauce, use less water. Throw in the remaining ingredients accept for the sausage.

Stir and raise the heat to med-high allowing the sauce to come to a slow boil while stirring, then turn down to low.

While the sauce is doing its thing, cook the sausage in a frying pan. Drain the fat and then place the sausage on top of a double or triple paper towel lined dinner plate to remove some more of the grease.

Add the sausage to the sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to cook on low and stir occasionally. After a few hours, taste and add more salt, pepper or other spices to your liking. Sometimes I'll throw in a little more cheese at this point. The longer you cook it the better it is---period.

So, if you know you'll be home one day you may want to start it in the morning. Your home will smell So good by the afternoon! I often save myself even more time and money by doubling the recipe and freezing the extras in plastic freezer bags in family sized portions.

It defrosts well by placing the bag in a pot of tepid water and tastes so much better than sauce in a jar! Don't know what's for dinner tonight? Grab a bag of your homemade sauce from your freezer and boil up a little whole grain pasta! Enjoy!

Author, Tammy Matthews, is a mom of three and creator of the Bizzi2Go Planner. For more information please visit: http://www.bizzimom.com

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