Thursday, August 16, 2007

Shrimp & Asparagus in Wine Basil Sauce



I've had a huge craving for shrimp since I started the detox, so I knew it was going to be one of the first things I made. For my first meal out, I ordered a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp, and the shrimp was so dry and overcooked I was sorely disappointed.

Although this recipe, with the butter and olive oil, isn't the type to make every day, it is definitely something I would make quite frequently. It's a great way to use up any fresh asparagus you have lying around. I also love that the recipe is super easy to make, so you can have this elegant-looking entree on the table in about 20 minutes. Although I have it tossed with angel-hair pasta, it's also excellent over whole-grain rice.

Pasta with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil Wine Sauce

Shrimp and Asparagus in Wine Basil Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red serrano pepper, diced
1/2 c white wine
1 tbsp butter
1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, with tails intact
15 asparagus stalks, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups fresh basil, thinly sliced
Rice or pasta

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and pepper, saute for 1 minute. Add wine and butter, bring to a boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp and asparagus, and saute until done, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and basil and toss until basil is wilted. Serve over pasta or rice.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have a fabulous website with wonderful simple recipes. But I think something that could add another layer of goodness is a bit more of a focus on local, in-season ingredients. I just looked at this recipe and thought, any asparagus this time of year is probably coming from overseas, or at the very least from giant corporate farms. (And almost all shrimp comes from environmentally unsound operations overseas.) With such a huge bounty of squash, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, peppers and other produce coming off farms right now (at least where I am on the east coast), it would be wonderful to see the leaders of the cooking community using them, rather than driving us back to the huge corporate farms and disconnecting us from the seasons. I say all this in the friendliest possible spirit of constructive criticism.

Dr. Melissa West said...

Hey Fiber

This looks beautiful. The one thing that I found when I was on detox was the absolute binge I went on afterwards! This looks like a great way to come out! Good to see you enjoying your time in the kitchen again!

Carla said...

Mmm shrimp. Can I come over for leftovers? ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Fiber,
I'm always a bit unsure how many people some of your recipes (especially entrées) will feed. I wonder if you would consider adding this information.
Thanks!

Fiber said...

Kristin - I appreciate your comments. I do try my hardest to use local produce whenever I can. Unfortunately, I can't always convince my stomach of that and I'll just have to make something. I will try to highlight some good fresh end-of-summer recipes over the next few days.

Melissa, PhD - Thankfully I didn't do too much of a binge. I thought I would, but it was fairly easy to limit myself to small meals.

Carla - if I had leftovers, they would be all yours!! =)

Anon - excellent point. For the most part, my recipes are geared towards 4 adults, but I will be more than happy to include that information from here on out!

Chris said...

Looks devine! And simple to make...yum!

Cynthia said...

You are absolutely right, this is elegant and the light on the pic makes it even more attractive and appetizing.

ritu said...

hello vegaquarian..

looks good, and I bet will taste good as well.
recently i have started using a lot of fruits while cooking seafood and fish.. works out real nice
PS very nice website

cheers

Nic said...

What a stunning photo! My husband would really love this dish, thanks for posting!

Anonymous said...

Oh my, this was the inspiration for tonights meal. I changed it up a bit with diced sweet red peppers, broccoli, and red onion and then to thicken the sauce a bit I added grated parmesean/romano cheese. This was probably the best thing I have ever created and it's all thanks to you!

zafer cetinoz said...

You are absolutely right, this is elegant and the light on the pic makes it even more attractive and appetizing.

Richard484 said...

Tried this last night without the peppers as my wife doesn't eat them cooked. Fantastic!!!!

Unknown said...

I want to make this tonight using broccoli but I don't have any white wine any suggestions?