Spicy Shrimp Garlic Pasta

I’m referring this from The Cooking Monster’s blog.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

• Spaghetti (or you can sub with linguine, as recommended by the original recipe). I used the whole pack.
• 1 pound medium shrimp/prawns, deveined, shelled and chopped coarsely. Use a meat cleaver. Easier!
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley. Not sure how to get this back home but I’m sure BSC’s Cold Storage will carry it!
• 1 tsp of chilli flakes
• 1-2 cups of white wine. Be sure to use a good one. We used a cheap one ‘coz we don’t really drink wine and had no way to finish it. Had NO taste at all!
• 2 tbsp butter
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• A nice BIG skillet/wok

Method

1. Put pasta to boil. Remember to toss in 1/4 cup of salt into boiling water with pasta. 10-12 mins is best.
2. In the meantime, in a pan/skillet/wok, brown the garlic
3. Toss in prawns and chilli flakes. As soon as the prawns turn pink, remove.
4. Using same skillet, toss in butter and wine. Cook until half of the mixture remains (half will dissipate into thin air!). By now, the pasta should be cooked. Remove, strain and leave one side.
5. Return chilli/prawns into the butter/wine mixture in the skillet and cook thoroughly
6. Toss in parsley and mix nicely
7. Toss in pasta and mix until everything is distributed nicely
8. Serve piping hot!

Penne Pasta with Creamy Seafood Sauce

Recipe

500g green prawns

300g white fish fillets

200g scallops

90g smoked salmon

2 cups chicken stock

30g butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

3/4 cup cream

2 tbsp lemon juice

500g dried penne pasta

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp chopped basil

Method

1. Pel and devein prawns, cut fish into 3cm cubes, remove any bones. Clean scallop and cut salmon into strips.

2. Bring stock to boil. Add prawns and simmer 1 min or until prawn change color, remove. Add fish and simmer 1 min or until fish change color. Do the same for scallops. Set stock and seafood aside.

3. Melt butter in pan, add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat until onion is tender.

4. Add stock, cream and lemon juice; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 5 mins or until sauce is reduced by half.

5. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water until tender; drain.

6. Add all seafood to sauce, return to simmering point. Remove from heat and quickly stir in beaten egg yolks and basil. Pour over hot pasta to serve

Hints

1. Seafood needs a little more heating through to cook. It becomes dry and tough if overcooked.

Spinach, Ham & Mushroom Lasagne

Recipe

16 large Spinach leaves

200g Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

2 tbsp Olice oil

1 Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, crushed

200g Leg Ham, chopped

300g Mushrooms, finely chopped

1 x 425g can Tomatoes

1 1/2 cups Tomato Puree

1/4 cup chopped Basil

1 x 250g packet no-cook Lasagne sheets

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Roughly chop spinach. Boil, steam or microwave until tender. Drain.Combine with Ricotta and Cheddar cheeses.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion and garlic. Cook until tender. Add ham and mushrooms, cook for 2 mins. Add undrained, crushed tomatoes and totato puree, bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 5 mins or until sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir in Basil.

3. Place 1/5th of lasagne sheets over base of a 3 L oven-proof dish; spread with half the spinach mixture. Top with 1/5th lasagne sheets, half the ham mixture and 1/5th lasagne sheets. Repeat layer with remaining ingredients.

4. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover dish, bake in moderate oven 180 degree C for 30 mins. Uncover dish, bake further 10 mins or until lasagne is tender.

Hint

For vegetarian lasagne, replace ham with 2 x 310g cans red kidney beans, drained.