This recipe came about because I had a few blog-things I needed to deal with. I had raw frozen shrimp that needed to be used; I had a garlic press I wanted to test; and I had purple snow peas and endive that Frieda's Specialty Produce had sent to me.I could have used all those things separately, but the more I thought about it, the more they made sense together. Along with a few other things, of course.
This is the sort of recipe that begs you to improvise, to make this to your taste. I used green bell peppers, but red bells would be nice and would add a nice pop of color. Yellow or orange or a mix of colors would be fine, too.
Garlic and ginger are strong flavors - use as much or as little as you like. I didn't add any herbs, because I wanted this to be about the garlic and ginger, but you could make this with garlic and basil, for example. Or ginger and cilantro. Or oregano and red pepper flakes. Or whatever strikes your mood.
I had very large shrimp, so I cut them in half, but this would be just as good with smaller shrimp, or even bay scallops. No endive? How about a bit of cabbage or bok choy? No purple snow peas? Use green snow peas or sugar snaps or English peas. Or no-peas, if you don't like them.
This is the sort of meal you can put together really quickly, particularly of you have everything prepped in advance. Dinner can be on the table in the time it takes to boil water and cook your pasta.
Shrimp with Garlic, Ginger, and White Wine
1/2 large onion
2 green bell peppers
2 large cloves garlic
1 1/2-inch piece of ginger
Salt, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 small endive
1/4 pound purple snow peas, stems removed
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, cleaned, and cut in half, lengthwise
1/2 pound linguini, cooked in boiling salted water
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
Cut the onion in half through the poles, then cut that in half (or thirds, if you want smaller slices). Cut the pieces into 1/4-inch slices.
Core and wash the bell peppers and cut into slices that are similar in size to the onions.
Add the onions and bell pepper to the pan and cook, stirring as needed.
Dice the garlic or press it through a garlic press. Grate the ginger or press it through a garlic press. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and stir. Add the salt (I used about 1/2 teaspoon), and cook, stirring as needed, until the onions are becoming translucent.
Add the white wine and lemon juice and let it simmer while you work on the endive.
Cut the endive in half, lengthwise (remove and wilted or damaged outside leaves, of course), remove the cores, and slice into shreds about the same size as the peppers and onions. Add the endive and snow peas to the pot, and cook, stirring as needed, until the liquid is reduced until it's almost gone. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until the shrimp are opaque.
Add the pasta and stir to combine.
Serve hot. Or ... although I made this with the intention of serving it as a hot dish, it's actually pretty tasty as a chilled pasta salad. I'd suggest adding an extra squeeze of lemon and a splash of olive oil if you serve the leftovers chilled.
About those purple snow peas ... I have to say that they didn't taste any different than the green version, but - and maybe this is just my imagination - but it seems like they held their crispness better than the green ones. I used a small amount in some chicken soup and cooked them for a looooong time, and they held that lovely crispness rather than getting soft.
The garlic press I mentioned is this one, and I have a review up on Cookistry Reviews.
I receive produce from Frieda's Specialty Produce on occasion for my use; posts are not required, but then again I only ask for things I plan on using. Or that I'm curious about. Frieda's products are available in many supermarkets ... and I buy them, too. I received the garlic press from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.
