Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Red Chile Oil

This is a recipe for true garlic lovers. We bought so much garlic this week it was ridiculous… the woman checking us out at the store thought we were going on a vampire hunt. We didn’t use nearly as much as the recipe called for (silly me… I misread ‘cloves’ as ‘heads’. Whoops).

These are meant to be tapas (yes, we have a tendency to eat appetizers as main courses). We served these with our Strawberry Spinach Salad and leftover Red Wine Sangria. The shrimp were delicious and the oil has a fabulous flavor. We tried some of the giant elephant garlic for the chips. While they looked impressive, they were actually quite bitter. More for decoration than flavor I guess. Next time we might try blanching the garlic before frying it, which might make it less bitter. Get ready to use a ton of olive oil, though it’s well worth it.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Red Chile Oil

Recipe from Bobby Flay. Makes 8 appetizer servings.

INGREDIENTS
24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Red Chile Oil:
1 cup olive oil
6 dried chiles de arbol, lightly toasted and crushed
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch salt
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed

Toasted Garlic Chips:
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

To make red chili oil, blend all ingredients including the thyme leaves in a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.

For garlic chips, heat the oil in a small skillet until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and cook until the slices begin to brown and curl. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and season with salt.

Place the shrimp in a cazuela or an ovenproof casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle olive oil over shrimp, add crushed garlic, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven until pink and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle generously with Red Chile Oil and sprinkle with thyme and Toasted Garlic Chips. Serve with crusty bread.

Homemade Fettuccine with Garlic and Oil

Well, after the ravioli, we had the paster maker dusted off and were ready to use it again. We ditched the idea of more ravioli, as they are not the quickest things in the world, and went with a plain fettuccine. The difference between fresh pasta and dried is huge… once you’ve made some you’ll have a hard time going back. Trust me.

This recipe was very simple, and quite good. Sometimes you don’t need gobs of sauce with tons of spices and flavors, and such is the case with this pasta.

Homemade Fettuccine with Garlic and Oil

Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
For pasta:
4 eggs
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

For sauce:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper
smoked paprika & parmesan for garnish

DIRECTIONS
To make pasta, either build a well out of flour and slowly stir in eggs (more info here) or mix in a food processor or stand mixer. You want the dough to just barely stick together into a smooth ball, but do not add any more liquid than necessary. Split into two, form into balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll out with a pasta roller until thin, then cut into fettuccine (follow manufacturers directions for whatever pasta roller you have.) Add pasta to a pot of salted, boiling water and stir to break up. Cook until al-dente, about 4-5 minutes.

For sauce, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat in a heavy saucepan until the garlic begins to turn pale gold, about 1-2 minutes (Do not burn!). Remove the pan from the heat and add 3/4 of the parsley, salt & pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce in a separate bowl and toss until all the pasta is coated.

Serve and sprinkle with the remaining parsley, Parmesan, and smoked paprika. Serve immediately.