Shrimpy Pasta

As many of you know, one of my favorite dishes to dine upon in Bozeman is the Pedro's Pasta from Montana Ale Works. This is a pasta dish consisting of gluten free penne, grilled chicken, goat cheese, tomatoes, basil and pine nuts. Having moved back to Missoula now, I was beginning to miss this delicious and filling meal. Therefore, I took it upon myself to recreate it. And I must say, it was quite a success.

Instead of chicken I used shrimp and to replace the very expensive pine nuts (almost $30 a pound!) I bought some dry roasted soy nuts. Which, I must say, were just as good, maybe better than the pine nuts. The soy nuts stayed crunchy and added a hearty and robust flavor to the meal.

Here are my ingredients:

•  Olive oil 
• 1 medium sized organic Roma tomato
• fresh, organic basil (use as much or as little as you like, I love basil so I used many leaves)
• gluten free penne pasta (I used Tinkyada Brown Rice Penne; it has a good texture and the consistency holds up even with all the other ingredients added)
• Dry roasted, no salt added soy nuts
• Goat Cheese ( I always use Almatheia, as it is local cheese from Belgrade, MT)
• Frozen, cooked shrimp 

And the preparation went as so: 

1. Bring the water for the pasta to a boil, I always add olive oil in order to keep the pasta from sticking together

2. While the water is boiling, chop the tomato, remove the basil leaves from the stem and tear them into smaller pieces. The tomato and basil can now be added to a pan with some olive oil. Turn the temperature on a low setting so you can slowly saute. 

3. Place the pasta in the boiling water, keeping the temperature at medium high. You will need to stir frequently to keep the pasta from sticking. Again, this is mostly because this gluten free brown rice pasta has a tendency to get gummy if not separated while it cooks. 

4. Give the tomato and basil a stir. If you find the basil has cooked down too much, add more!

5. Place the amount of shrimp you would like to use in a bowl with cold water. Let them sit for about 5 minutes. Once they have thawed remove the tails. 

 6. Add the thawed shrimp, (tails removed!) to the pan with the tomato and basil. Saute for 7 to 10 minutes on a medium temperature or until the shrimp is cooked through. At this point, I added more basil as the first batch had cooked down quite a lot.

7. Strain and rinse the pasta with cold water, then place it back in the pot off the heat.

8. By this time the shrimp, tomato and basil should be done cooking.

9. Place the pasta in a pasta dish and drizzle olive oil over the top. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp, tomato and basil to the pasta. Top with soy nuts and goat cheese,begin to savor the warming aromas and rich flavors of your meal!

*Note, I did have to reheat the meal in the microwave for a few minutes as the pasta had gone cold and I spent a lot of time trying to get a perfect snap shot of the completed product. It might be helpful to keep the pasta on a very low heat with some olive oil mixed in while you are finishing sauteing the shrimp, basil and pasta.

Can you smell the earthy basil? Can you taste the tart tomatoes? Can you hear the oil sizzling in the pan while you saute? 

This meal was exceptional and it gives me confidence to keep trying new recipes and adventures in the kitchen. It is very satisfying to prepare a meal that tastes wonderful as well as nourishes and satisfies. Shrimpy Pasta is going to be an added bonus to my recipe book. 

Bon Appetit!