Professional chefs and home cooks find creative uses for leftovers. Their recipes are usually excellent. I had some leftover spaghetti on hand and some frozen shrimp that were starting to freeze burn. A thrifty person, I could not rule out these ingredients and decided to combine them in an original recipe.
When I looked in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator, I found a red bell pepper, a small zucchini, and a yellow onion, all of which go well together. When I checked the shelves in the pantry, I found some rosemary breadsticks imported from Italy. Ta da! It had the ingredients for a wonderful meal.
I live in the Midwest and fresh fish, other than walleye and trout, is hard to come by. Fresh fish is supposedly displayed in store windows, but this fish can be frozen fish that has been thawed. Eating fish that has been frozen, partially thawed, or thawed and refrozen can put you at risk for food poisoning.
Years ago I had a breaded fish patty sandwich (frozen fillet) and developed scombroid fish poisoning. To my surprise, giant hives appeared on my body. A beehive covered an entire thigh. I have never forgotten this experience and I am careful to keep frozen fish fully frozen. If I buy frozen fish, I ask the staff if it is really fresh or thawed fish.
Since this recipe contains a lot of veggies, I didn’t bother to make a salad. If you want to complete the meal with salad, please do so. Don’t expect a thick sauce with this recipe. Instead, pasta and shrimp are seasoned with a fine sauce made with butter, wine, and garlic.
Choose a dry white wine that complements the ingredients in the recipe, not overpower them. My husband and I loved this recipe and I think you will enjoy it too. Since it’s winter in Minnesota, I heated the pasta bowls before serving dinner. Serve this recipe with breadsticks, crusty bread, or garlic toast.
INGREDIENTS
20 cooked and frozen large shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and cut into half moons
1 small zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2 “pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 “strips
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons small capers, drained
1 cup of dry white wine
Parmesan cheese for garnish
METHOD
1. Thaw shrimp according to package directions. Remove the tails and reserve.
2. Coat the skillet with olive oil. Put the heat to medium.
3. Add onion half moons and cook until soft.
4. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper. Cook 5 minutes.
5. Spread shrimp over vegetable mixture. Add the pasta and mix with tongs to combine. Lower the heat.
6. Season pasta and vegetables with garlic salt, black pepper, butter, and capers.
7. For white wine over mix. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
8. Spoon into large soup bowls. Garnish generously with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.