Pasta Pioneer Style

Here at AF, one of our favorite bloggers, who inspires us day in and day out, is none other than The Pioneer Woman. We admire her photographs, her take on life and especially her homestyle cooking . . . oh the cooking. . . I have tried quite a few of her recipes and love them all, but her shrimp linguine recipe really stands out. Unlike my blog partner, the self proclaimed "pasta-a-holic," I'm not a huge fan of noodles. My last meal on earth would definitely not be spaghetti and meatballs (no offense, Kara)

This shrimp pasta recipe, however, is perfect for those who do not like the heavy feeling you get in your belly after downing a portion of spaghetti cabanora. It's fresh, it's light, it's SO easy to make and it's delicious! It also involves minimal cleanup and is super affordable. Whole Foods was running a special for fresh GA coastal shrimp at 9.99 lb. last week, which was helpful to our budget. Side note: weekly specials as good as that one tend to run out by Wednesday, so be sure to shop early in the week.

Our lovely hosts and dear friends, Anne and Martin, allowed us to surprise them with the dish on a Tuesday night where we could show our appreciation for all the many times they let us come over to their house and "be naughty" as Anne would say. Try this dish during the summer for a group of friends - you can't go wrong.

Below is The Pioneer Woman's recipe, albeit with a few AF tweaks . We paired the pasta with a Caesar salad and coupious amounts of wine per usual!


Shrimp Linguine (serves 8)

Ingredients

1 16 oz. box of linguine
3 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes (I used low sodium)
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
Fresh basil (use the whole package)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes
Tin foil (or as my dad says, "Silver paper")
1 cup of white wine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Devein and wash the shrimp; remove the tails. Cook the linguine to al dente, until the pasta is just cooked and still firm when you bite into it. The only way to get it right is to taste the pasta along the way. Drain the pasta and set aside.

As the pasta is cooking, mince the garlic cloves. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to brown. Add the diced tomatoes, white wine, salt and black pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Your kitchen will begin to smell intoxicating at this point. As the sauce cooks, give the parsley and basil a rough chop.

Now, assemble your foil pouch, making sure it's very large and very secure. After the 10 minutes are up, take the sauce off the heat, add the shrimp, pasta, herbs. Give it a light toss and pour the mixture into the foil pouch. Secure the foil parcel and place it in oven. Cook for 15 minutes exactly. Remove when done and serve hot.

We served the dish right out of the foil! Garnish with crushed red pepper flakes, and leftover fresh parsley and basil to taste. Please enjoy the step by step photos (a la Pioneer Woman) below.

Saute garlic in olive oil.


Add diced tomatoes, white wine, S&P. Cook for 10 minutes on medium high heat. Intoxicating aromas are about to ensue.


After the 10 minutes is up, take the pan off the heat and add the shrimp. Then add the pasta. Give it a quick toss.


Pour into foil packet. Sorry for the blur - this was an action shot.


Add the parsley and basil. I would actually do this when it is in the pan and off the heat after you add the shrimp and pasta. I meant to and just forgot. Now, tightly wrap up the foil packet. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven. Serve right out of the foil packet and enjoy!