Italians living along the coast have a bountiful variety of seafood available to prepare their meals. It is not uncommon for them to include seafood in an appetizer, an antipasto, and an entree.  I love this Pasta al Pomodoro with Shrimp for its versatility. It has a short list of ingredients, and you can easily substitute virtually any and all available fresh seafood. I prepared this Pasta al Pomodoro with Shrimp, but feel free to get your Italian on and experiment!

Italians regularly grow their own vegetables, forage for mushrooms, and visit local markets to obtain fresh meats, seafood, and vegetables. They are experts at taking a basic recipe and making it special by using whatever ingredients are seasonal and fresh. The secret to success, as with all Italian cooking, is to prepare the dish with the best ingredients possible.  A quick walk around any town in Italy will quickly reveal a few things. Italians love their food, they eat pasta virtually every day, and they are fit! Given the low-carb craze in the US, I often wonder how this is possible. While there are many theories here, my observations tell me that they eat their pasta mainly at lunch which permits the body to use that energy when it’s active. Breakfast and dinner are much smaller meals, so the body is mainly living off calories consumed during the afternoon siesta.

Feel free to try the Italian method of staying slim, or if you are eating the dish in the evening, you could even substitute carrot or zucchini pasta to keep it low-carb and light.

To begin the dish, prepare the sauce as directed. Then, boil the pasta ensuring it is a minute prior to al-dente when complete. This will allow you to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce and for it to absorb the flavor. Saute the shrimp in olive oil, garlic and a pinch of salt. Don’t overcrowd the pan as the shrimp will steam as opposed to fry. Use a very large skillet leaving room to add the sauce and pasta later.

Cook’s notes: If you are a garlic lover feel free to add extra garlic to the shrimp and pomodoro sauce or red pepper flakes for more heat!

When the pasta is almost complete, add some sauce to the pan with the shrimp.

Drain the pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid to add as needed to the sauce. Mix the pasta into the pan and add a splash of white wine or the pasta water until sauce is at desired consistency.

Garnish and serve.

I hope you love this Pasta al Pomodoro with Shrimp as much as I do. Enjoy!

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Pasta al Pomodoro with Shrimp

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 servings

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• GARLIC PASTE - OPTIONAL
• 2 big heads of fresh garlic or 3 small ones 1 ounce extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp salt
• **********************************
• SUGO AL POMODORO SAUCE
• 4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6-7 slivered or minced garlic cloves or 2-3 teaspoons garlic paste
• 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or Italian Peperoncino
• 1 splash or 2 tablespoons white wine or fish stock
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small bunch approx 4 Tbsp fresh basil chopped julienned
• **********************
• FOR THE SHRIMP
• 1 pound extra large shrimp cleaned tails on
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6-8 cloves of garlic peeled and lightly crushed or 3 teaspoons garlic paste
• salt and pepper to taste
• ***********************
• PASTA: 1 LB Spaghetti or linguine

Instructions

• FOR THE GARLIC PASTE
• Peel the garlic heads. Add to a blender with the extra virgin olive oil and blend it until it becomes a paste. Add the salt. Blend it for a second. Remove from the blender and store inside a covered glass container. The garlic paste can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
• ********************************************************************************
• FOR THE SUGO AL POMODORO - TOMATO SAUCE
• In a sauce pan, on a low fire heat up the olive oil.
• Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until garlic becomes fragrant, about 15 seconds.
• Add tomatoes and stir. Bring to a boil. Bring fire to a medium and cook for 15 minutes stirring from time to time. After 15 minutes add a splash of white wine or fish stock. Cook for a minute or two. Add sugar, salt. Stir. Add basil and turn off fire. Let basil sit in the sauce in order to infuse with the tomato flavor.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Follow package instructions for accurate cooking times and remember to remove pasta a minute prior to become al dente in order for the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce.
• ***********************************************************************************
• FOR THE SHRIMP
• Bring a large skillet to a medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add 3-4 garlic cloves or 3 teaspoons garlic paste. Sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add half of the shrimp. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook the shrimp for 1 and half minute. Turn shrimp and cook for another minute and a half. Remove shrimp from pan and transfer to a plate.
• Discard the garlic cloves and oil, and add another 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the remaining garlic, cook until fragrant and add the remaining shrimp and cook again for a minute and half on each side. Add a pinch of salt and some extra red pepper flakes for more heat to taste.
• Add desired amount of tomato sauce to the skillet, desired amount of pasta and cook the pasta in the sauce with the shrimp for another minute. Add extra basil and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Your comments mean a lot to me. If you made any of my recipes or are considering making them, please leave a comment bellow. Please choose a star rating too. Thank you. Carla!

The post Pasta al Pomodoro with Shrimp appeared first on My Global Cuisine.

I love Thai Red Curry Chicken with Basil so much that I could eat it almost every day. If you have tried any of my recipes by now you know that I love strong flavors. This Thai Red Curry Chicken certainly meets that criteria with its perfect balance of spicy and sweet. If you are familiar with traditional Thai curries you will appreciate the authentic ingredients in this dish. If you are just a beginner, you will be starting off on the right foot and will impress your friends and family with the final result. This Thai Red Curry Chicken with Basil is a great dish to serve when entertaining. You can prepare the dish a day in advance or before your guests arrive and rewarm just before serving. If you do prepare the dish in advance I would recommend though that you wait to add the red chilies, the kaffir lime leaves and the sweet basil at just prior to serving to keep the flavor and colors vibrant.

Here is a photo showing some of the key ingredients. If you don’t live nearby a Thai or Asian grocery store, you could order them from Amazon.com. You can have kafir lime leaves and even Thai chilies shipped right to your home. Both can be stored in ziplock freezer bags and kept frozen. This will preserve both their color and aroma for a long time. For the chilies you’ll want to cut their steams off and put them into a small freezer-safe storage bag, remove as much air as possible from the bag, and seal it.

I recommend you invest in a good wok. It’s an essential tool for Thai and Asian food cooking. I use mine all the time.

The dish is typically served with Jasmine rice, but you can use your favorite rice if you don’t have any on hand. In my house, and in many Asian homes, a rice cooker is used to prepare the rice. Using a rice cooker allows me to prepare the rice hours in advance and have it warm and moist when I’m ready to serve.

I hope you will enjoy making this wonderful dish as much as do. Happy New Year!

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Thai Red Curry Chicken with Basil

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 2 Ibs chicken breasts sliced into chunks or into bite sizes
• 1 13 1/2 ounces can of coconut milk shaken
• 1 TBSP of red curry paste
• 2 TSP of tamarind paste
• 1 TBSP of palm sugar
• 2 TBSP of low sodium chicken broth or water
• 1 1/2 TBSP of Thai fish sauce
• 1 to 2 red chillies thinly sliced
• 5 kaffir lime leaves julienned
• 1 handful of Thai sweet basil

Instructions

• - Bring the coconut milk to boil in a large wok or in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
• - Add the curry paste and stir to blend. Add the tamarind paste and stir to blend. Add the palm sugar, the chicken broth and the fish sauce and stir for about 1 minute.
• - Add the chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through and changes color, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the chicken, otherwise it will get tough.
• - Add the the red chillies with the seeds, the kaffir lime leaves and the basil and cook for about 1 minute. Taste sauce and adjust flavors. For more heat, add more of the sliced chillies. For more salt, add more fish sauce. Serve with steamed Thai jasmine rice.

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