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Main Dish

This flavorful vegetable pasta doesn’t ‘shrimp’ on flavor

Tuscan shrimp linguine is fairly quick to make but packs a lot of flavor from fresh vegetables. It would be a great summer dish, when gardens are in full swing.

Some wonderful friends of ours hosted Joey and me this past weekend while we were on a trip to speak to some college students.

We were treated to a great time, fabulous food and amazing company, getting to break bread with a lot of their friends while we were there.

Of course, we had to return to reality, and once we were back home late on Monday, work loomed, and our fridge was empty. Not feeling particularly sure I wanted to indulge in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich after the culinary weekend we experienced, I went to my Pinterest board to see what I could make for a quick dinner with only a dash into the grocery store.

The recipe I decided on comes from the blog “Sweet C’s” by Courtney Odell. You can find the original post at https://sweetcsdesigns.com/tuscan-shrimp-linguine/. I added seasoning in my version and subbed in asparagus instead of broccolini.

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Tuscan Shrimp Linguine

Tuscan shrimp linguine is fairly quick to make but packs a lot of flavor from fresh vegetables. It would be a great summer dish, when gardens are in full swing.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian, Tuscan
Keyword 30-minute meal, asparagus, basil, broccolini, cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, garlic, grape tomatoes, linguine, shrimp, spinach, vegetable stock, white wine, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 pound linguine pasta
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1/2 pound fresh asparagus cut into half-inch pieces
  • 10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable stock or dry white wine
  • 8 cloves garlic diced
  • 1 pound uncooked shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups loosely packed fresh spinach cut into ribbons

Instructions

  • Start boiling your linguine according to package directions to cook it al dente.
  • While the pasta cooks, in a very large skillet, heat the olive oil and one tablespoon butter over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion and asparagus, and saute until they are both almost cooked through.
  • Add in the tomatoes, continuing to stir until their outsides start to wrinkle a bit, and they begin to burst (you can help them out at this point by gently squishing them with your spatula).
  • Add in the stock, garlic and the other tablespoon of butter, stirring to combine.
  • Once the butter is melted and the stock is at a low simmer, stir in the shrimp, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, continuing to stir regularly until the shrimp is cooked completely (it should be a light pink and starting to curl on itself a bit).
  • Stir in the cooked linguine, coating it with the sauce. Once everything is well-combined, stir in the fresh spinach, letting it wilt, and then serve immediately.

This was really tasty, and I couldn’t help but think it would be even better for those of you who will have gardens bursting with fresh veggies this summer. It was a simple, but filling, pasta that wasn’t overly seasoned, so the taste of the tomatoes and asparagus came through well.

If you’re not a shrimp person, you could easily use some pre-cooked chicken instead or just double the vegetables.

Even though I still need to do a proper grocery store trip, the bags are unpacked, the laundry is done, and the we’re back to another week of putting out the paper. But I do feel a bit lighter after this weekend.

There are few things as good for the soul as a great meal and even greater people to share it with.

This piece first appeared in print on March 7, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Etouffee is easy to make and ‘shrimp’ly delicious

Shrimp etouffee is made with an easy, homemade stock and lots of fresh vegetables to create a spicy, filling meal.

I’m of the opinion that any dish named using its French term immediately sounds 1,000 times fancier.

Souffles (puffed up egg dishes) and fondue sovoyarde (cheese dip) and crème brulee (custard topped with burnt sugar) all sound infinitely luxurious. Even foie gras (duck liver pate) almost sounds appetizing.

Shrimp etouffee is another of those dishes. “Etouffee” just means “smothered” in French, but having never tried it, I was sure it was way too complicated to create in my own kitchen.

It turns out I was very wrong about that, and not only is shrimp etouffee relatively simple to create, it’s delicious, too.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Chili Pepper Madness” by Mike Hultquist. You can find the original post at https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/shrimp-etouffee/. I added extra veggies, garlic and seasoning in my version.

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Shrimp Etouffee

Shrimp etouffee is made with an easy, homemade stock and lots of fresh vegetables to create a spicy, filling meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cajun, Creole
Keyword cajun seasoning, celery, Creole seasoning, crushed tomatoes, fresh thyme, green bell pepper, hot sauce, shrimp, spicy, white rice, Worcestershire, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 pound shrimp shelled (keep shells for stock)
  • 5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil divided
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 green bell peppers diced (keep scraps for stock)
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced (keep scraps for stock)
  • 4 stalks celery diced (keep scraps for stock)
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 15 ounces diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning, divided
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
  • 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce I used Chipotle Tabasco
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Cooked white rice for serving

Instructions

  • Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pot over medium heat. Start by prepping your shrimp and vegetables. Toss all vegetable scraps, along with the shrimp shells into the oil. Cook the shells and scraps for about five minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetable scraps are softened. Add the chicken stock to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the solids out of the stock and set the stock aside while you make the sauce.
  • In a stock pot or Dutch oven, heat three tablespoons oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the flour and stir to create a paste. Continue stirring constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux reaches a light brown color. (Don’t let the roux burn. If it does, discard it and start over.)
  • Add the diced peppers, onion and celery. Cook for about five minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften.
  • Add the tomatoes, along with their juices, and the garlic and saute for another minute.
  • Stir in the stock you made earlier, making sure to break up any clumps of flour. Once everything is mixed well, stir in two tablespoons Creole seasoning, Worcestershire, hot sauce, thyme and salt and pepper.
  • Let the mixture simmer for at least 20 minutes before serving, regularly stirring to keep anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  • While the sauce simmers, heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Season the shrimp with one teaspoon of the Creole seasoning, and saute them in the hot oil, one or two minutes per side, until they are cooked through.
  • Serve the sauce over the rice and top with shrimp.

We absolutely loved this. I was a little nervous about making shrimp stock, but it was super easy, and it added a ton of flavor to the overall dish. It was also good and spicy. If you’re not much of a spice fan, you might decrease the Creole seasoning when you make it, but we thought it had exactly the right amount of heat. I also used chicken stock to make the rice to go with this, and I think that added even more depth of flavor.

And in addition to making something delicious, I have enjoyed mentioning to people that I made such a fancy-sounding meal. I might have to give some more French dishes a try…minus the duck livers.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 25, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Can’t stop thinking ‘gumbout’ New Orleans dish

New Orleans shrimp and sausage gumbo is a spicy, filling meal.

Sometimes I let my fridge do the talking when I’m trying to figure out what to make for dinner, so when I had several leftover stalks of celery, most of an onion and lots of diced bell peppers at my disposal, I took to the Internet for a solution.

Much to Joey’s delight, I decided on trying a recipe for gumbo.

I headed to the grocery store to finish out my ingredient list and realized that one item on the list, gumbo file, which is made from sassafras leaves, is not sold in most Kansas grocery stores (if someone knows a hidden spot it exists, let me know).

After doing a little research, I decided to get a little weird and substitute for the gumbo file with a bit of root beer, since it has much the same flavor. I tried my gumbo before and after adding it, and I had to admit that it had a nice influence on the taste, so just go with me on this one.

I found this recipe on the blog “Little Spice Jar.” You can find it at http://littlespicejar.com/new-orleans-gumbo-shrimp-sausage/. I added more garlic and changed up the type of Tabasco (which I highly recommend), and of course, subbed in root beer in my version.

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New Orleans Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

New Orleans shrimp and sausage gumbo is a spicy, filling meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cajun
Keyword Andouille sausage, bell pepper, celery, gumbo, New Orleans, onions, shrimp

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup high-heat oil I used canola
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 onion diced (I used yellow)
  • 2 bell peppers diced (any color)
  • 4 stalks celery diced
  • 8-10 cloves minced garlic
  • 8 ounces Andouille sausage sliced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning I used Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce I used chipotle Tabasco
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes and juices diced
  • 2 pounds raw shrimp peeled and de-veined
  • 4 tablespoons root beer
  • White rice for serving

Instructions

  • Heat oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Whisk in the flour until it is smooth and then stir continuously for about 20 minutes or until the roux turns to a medium brown (the author calls it “peanut butter color”).
  • Stir in the onions, bell peppers and celery and keep stirring until they soften (about 10 minutes).
  • Add the garlic and sausage and keep stirring until you can really smell the garlic.
  • Now add the bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, Tabasco sauce, cayenne, chicken broth and tomatoes, making sure to scrape the pan to get all the good bits off the bottom.
  • Bring the mixture to a very low boil and lower the heat to medium-low and leave the lid on for about 15 minutes.
  • Stir in the shrimp and cook for about 10 more minutes or until the shrimp is done (they will curl up a bit and become opaque). Add the root beer and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Remove the bay leaves and serve the gumbo over white rice.

We reheated this on the stove over the next week so as not to overcook the shrimp, and it was good every single time. It makes a ton of food, especially when you’re serving it over rice, so we had quite a few meals of gumbo before it was all gone.

It’s definitely on the spicy side, so you could leave out the cayenne and replace it with paprika to tame it a bit if you like, but it was super good with the amount of kick it had.

It also helped me clean out my fridge and gave me a new use for root beer that I wasn’t expecting.

Sometimes you have to be inventive and flexible in your Midwestern kitchen.

This piece first appeared in print on April 5, 2018.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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