Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Ok, so here’s the thing. Sometimes we do good. We find fantastic recipes and we enjoy them. Other weeks, we don’t do so good. This might be one of those weeks.

While I wouldn’t call this bad, it wasn’t jaw-dropping good. Taylor liked it more than I did. I love basil, asparagus, garlic, shrimp, and lemon… but this didn’t quite do such fantastic ingredients justice. Maybe I’m just not a huge fan of white wine sauces, and in that case I’m biased. It’s still worth a try. Maybe we just had some bad shrimp.

On a better note: at Farmer’s market this week, they had something we had never seen before. Fresh garlic. I was quite confused at first, because they were sitting in between green onions and leeks (fresh garlic looks like bulbous leeks or giant green onions, hence my confusion). We bought some anyway, as we’re always up for trying new things! It’s actually quite good! Milder and sweeter than dried garlic, I like it a lot! We used it last night in the garlic yogurt sauce, and tonight in this pasta. Next week we’ll have to look into some recipes that feature fresh garlic, could make for some good eats. :)

Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 2 servings (two BIG servings!)

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped red jalapeño chili
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
12 uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails intact
12 slender asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, sirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño; sauté 1 minute. Add wine and butter; boil 2 minutes. Add shrimp, asparagus, and lemon juice. Toss until asparagus is just tender and shrimp are just opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add 2 cups sliced basil leaves and toss until basil wilts and sauce coats pasta, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta between 2 plates. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and lemon wedges and serve.

Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Basil

It feels so good to be cooking again. I didn’t know how much more eating out my stomach (and wallet) could take…

This is a great summer meal. They can be served hot or cold, and make GREAT leftovers the next day (in fact, it may have been better the next day!). We added some tofu, just to give it more substance as a main dish. We just sautéed the tofu in a bit of oil, soy sauce, and siracha hot sauce until browned.

The part about sitting 1 hour… right. If you’ve read our blog enough you’d know we’re just not that patient. So we ate these hot. Still good, and much quicker. :)

Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Basil

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
11/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (or more) hot chili oil (we used Mongolian fire oil… not sure if that’s what the recipe was calling for or not.)
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles (about 1/16 inch in diameter) or fresh angel hair pasta
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves (or regular basil will work just fine)

DIRECTIONS
Heat peanut oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Add next 6 ingredients; whisk to blend.

Place noodles in sieve over sink. Separate noodles with fingers and shake to remove excess starch. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly and transfer to bowl with sauce. Add sliced green onions and toss to coat noodles. Let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour. Stir in peanuts and Thai basil; toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.