Shrimp Pasta Puttanesca

Well, I've set myself up as a blogger and this is officially my first post EVER! We'll see if it really sends! My inaugural recipe is for the dinner I cooked while being filmed as my entry into Rachel Ray's cooking contest. It's simple yet elegant and above all, very, very tasty!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings)
6T olive oil
8 (or more if you like) cloves of garlic, chopped (not too small)
8 boned anchovy fillets, chopped
2T capers
16 pitted kalamata olives, sliced
8 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick
1/2t pepper (or to taste)
8 oz shrimp, peeled
1T each fresh Italian parsley and basil, rough chopped
8 oz long pasta (I use whole wheat thin spaghetti or cappelini (which is just a little thinner)

PREPARATION
--Put the pasta water on to boil.
--Saute the garlic in the oil till it's soft and starting to turn a little brown, then stir in the anchovies and then the capers. When they smell amazing, hold onto your hat and stir in the olives. When they are warmed through (and you have come back to your senses from the perfume), add the tomato slices and the pepper. Bring to the boiling point and then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring a few times gently to cook evenly but not break the tomatoes.
--After the 15 minutes you should have a lovely saucy juice in the pan. Gently place the shrimp into the sauce and gently cover them with the tomatoes so they can heat through. (They will be cooked when the pasta is done.) At the last minute stir in the parsley and basil.
--Put the pasta in the boiling water to cook. When it's done to a perfect al dente, drain it and divide it into portions on 4 plates. Spoon 1/4 of the sauce onto each lovely pile of pasta.

4 comments:

Sabba and Nanny said...

Just wanted to be the first to post on CKC--aka My Wife's first blog post. I knew you could do it, because I know you can do pretty much anything! Great post and a great dish, which we've enjoyed a few times since you discovered it.

Rachel Ray is the poorer for not picking you for her show, but we have a great DVD with a clever cooking lesson and the best host ever on it. Love ya!

Liz M. said...

excellent first post! go you!!!
and for everyone else, make this a staple in your menus, as this is DELICIOUS and really healthy when made with whole wheat pasta. I just drooled a little bit just thinking about it!

Bonnie said...

Hooray !!!! I love that you have done your first post !! I can't wait to try this ! It looks soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yum ! ( not that I'm surprised ! )

Ellie said...

Tonight's the night!! I don't have shrimp... forgot them. And I thought bowtie pasta sounded good. I'll let you know. Although, I'll tell Ryan about the shrimp, and if he wants to he can stop on his way home and grab some.