July 20, 2010

Linguine with Zucchini and Shrimp

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Monday pasta
To: Roberto

Found this on La Cucina Italiana. What do you think?

Re: Monday pasta
To: Tracy

Looks like you forgot to include the link...

Re: Monday pasta
To: Roberto

Shoot. So much for a clear head from raw foods.

It was a recipe for pasta with zucchini and shrimp. The zucchini was sliced long and thin like you did with the mandolin last week.

...

The forgotten link…
La Cucina Italiana "tossed" linguine
linguine al salto

...

I could feel a slight rush. Extracting myself from the sweltering second floor with Canon in hand. Rushing down the stairs to the cool kitchen. Popping the battery into the charger. Pulling the zucchini from the fridge. Pulling the knife from the drawer.

"I'm going to go sweep up, outside." He said.

"Okay, I'll get dinner going." I said.

The lettuce was rinsing. The heirloom cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and onion were sliced and waiting.

I cut off the ends of two medium zucchini and proceeded to whoa and be careful my way through the long slippery bodies. Slicing first into long quarters and then slicing the long quarters into matchstick-like strands.

...

"It was a mess out there." He said.

...

Roberto stood over the strands of zucchini gently cooking in the pan. "You can drop the pasta." He said.

"Did you salt the water." I asked.

"No." He said.

I pulled the lid off the pot of boiling water, rinsing it under cold water before retiring it to the draining rack. Roberto poured salt, first into his palm, then into the water.

I dropped the pasta, giving it a quick toss to prevent the strands from sticking.

"Can you slice off the end of a lemon?" He asked.

"Yep." I said.

I handed Roberto a third of a lemon.

"Is this good enough?" I asked.

"Yep." He said.

...

This second helping is even better than the first, I thought. All the extra pasta liquor from the pan saturating the leftover strands. That final grating of parmesan before the few remaining twirls of linguine enrobe the fork...

18 comments:

  1. Tracy, I'm not sure which I'm more envious of...that meal or the fact that you and Roberto are a dynamic duo in the kitchen. As soon as The Mistah sets foot in the kitchen I get all tense.

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  2. I love going back for those second helpings. I sometimes short myself on the first helping out of anticipation for seconds ;)

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  3. Shrimp and zucchini--perfect together. Great photos as usual.

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  4. Wendi - Let go of the tension, Wendi. Life is too short :)

    Elisabelle - :)

    Kath - My mouth was watering before, during, and after. I think we have a problem with pasta :)

    Denise - :)

    berrybushel - Never try that approach if you find yourself eating pasta with a bunch of hungry Italians. Take as much as humanly possible the first go round. :)

    Michele - Thanks, Michele. Shrimp and zucchini are pretty perfect together. I love how they both bulk up a pasta dish (like pasta needs any help) :)

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  5. Serendipity! I was just considering long strips of squash laced through some linguine....a farmer friend has grown a real charmer called "Zephyr"---a yellow squash with a green tip, firm and nutlike---delicious.

    your zucchini-shrimp looks ever-so-good.

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  6. what a perfect summertime dinner! so lovely.

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  7. This is a lovely recipe for zucchini from the farmer's market. My life is lacking some zucchini as of late.

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  8. Great post and gorgeous pictures. Now I want some pasta too.

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  9. Love this recipe. So fresh and enticing.

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  10. alexandria - It was good :)

    nancy - I hope you lace your linguine soon using Zephyr :)

    my spatula - Thank you! So good to see your blog breathing again :)

    Lindsay - Thank you :)

    Lindsey - I'd love to see what you'd whip up with some farmer's market zucchini. No more lacking :)

    El - Thank you :) I want pasta too. It's an addiction, really.

    Ellie - Exactly. It doesn't get any more in season or simple :)

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  11. Your pictures are stunning, my mouth is watering! Ill bet this tasted as good as it looks:)

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  12. The girl behind the blog - Thank you :) It was very good. Worth repeating.

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