My Chef’s Hat – Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes

Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes is all the colors of the Italian flag in one bowl. Simple to prepare, bursting with flavors.

Over the last month I’ve gotten very behind on blog posts. I’ve been switching blog platforms, and was traveling for several days to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. I got back on track, but chose to focus solely on catching up on all the restaurants we visited while my parents were in town. Great for restaurant posts, but that eliminated 1/3 of the purpose of the blog. Besides, I’m back to cooking every day, and of course finding new recipes on Pinterest regularly. So I had to shift some of that focus back to recipes.

I had taken out shrimp for dinner last night, and had a plan of what to make. But when I logged onto Pinterest to find the recipe, I lost my motivation and looked for an alternative. That seems to happen to me a lot, which makes menu planning a challenge. Also, whenever you get onto Pinterest there are always a million new recipes that catch your eye. So unless you are seriously targeted and go straight to what you’re looking for, you will very easily get distracted. I eventually came across Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes. I’ve made this recipe before, even prior to starting the blog. It is just one of many recipes that I’ve made, but have yet to post about

One bite of this Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes, and I can’t for the life of me imagine why I don’t make this more often. It’s so simple to make, and is absolutely bursting with flavors. I don’t normally like cooked chunks of tomatoes, but something about them cooking in wine makes such a difference. The garlic adds a huge punch of flavor. At first I thought it might be too much because, as usual, I minced up too much of it. But I mix raw and roasted garlic together, and cooking it in the wine significantly mellows the bite of the raw garlic.

I’m a big fan of pine nuts, and often add them to dishes. They add a very nice crunch and nuttiness. When you’re toasting pine nuts, you have to pay close attention or they will burn. They don’t take long to toast, and once they start burning it’s too late. I’ve never done that before…until last night. I actually burned 2 sets, which annoyed me even more because pine nuts are expensive. I finally got them right on the 3rd try.

Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes needs to go back on my regular recipe rotation for sure.

Adapted from Serious Eats

Garlic Shrimp with Basil & Tomatoes – Karyl’s Kulinary Krusade

Garlic Shrimp with Basil and Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon margarine (I use Smart Balance)
1/2 Tablespoon raw pine nuts
1/2 pound shrimp jumbo, peeled and deveined (I use 26-30 count)
2 cloves raw garlic, and 2 cloves roasted garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
12 grape tomatoes, halveed
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cups cooked orzo pasta

Instructions

Add pine nuts to dry skillet and toast over medium heat until golden brown. Pay close attention, or pine nuts will burn! Remove from skillet and set aside
Heat margarine in skillet until melted. Add onions and cook slowly, over medium-low heat, until golden brown and soft. Remove and set aside
Add salt & pepper to shrimp
Heat olive oil in medium skillet until almost smoking
Add shrimp and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Remove with tongs or slotted spoon, leaving oil and margarine behind in skillet.
Allow oil to cool slightly
Return onions to pan, then add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add wine and reduce over high heat for 3-5 minutes until at least half has evaporated.
Add tomatoes and most of basil and continue cooking until tomatoes begin to lose their shape. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Return shrimp to pan and cook until just heated through. Add toasted pine nuts. Serve with cooked orzo
SERVES 2