Shrimp & Pasta

Well gang, I’m off to my homeland, New Mexico and Texas, the desert Southwest. Love those enchiladas. I am definitely going to be challenged because of the really delicious real Mexican food. I don’t even want to think about it. I am going to WW in El Paso and I plan to go to the health food store and buy the right foods and cook for myself as much as possible.

My Mom thinks the Cafeteria is the way to go. She says everybody gets what they want and the price is right. I hate it. The food is terrible. And, not healthy. My brother’s wife is German so cooks slaws and potatoes and sausages. Very tasty but not for me.

I’m having friends over for dinner in my NM mountain cabin on Saturday night. Maybe I’ll do my famous shrimp and whole grain pasta with fresh tomato sauce and fresh oregano. I like a lot of fresh garlic. It is important to cook the pasta al dente. I do not leave the boil. I like capellini and it can over-cook in a second. Keep tasting. It will continue to cook after it is drained. Another thing, make sure everyone is ready to eat and the table is set completely. It is not good to cook pasta then look in the fridge for the cheese, fill the water glasses, open the wine. The pasta will be mush by then. It is a Zen moment when the pasta is done.

I guess it is recipe time again. I first ate this dish in a palapa on a cliff over looking the Pacific outside Puerto Angel Mexico many years ago. Everything was cooked over open fires camp-out style. It was a make shift place I happened onto looking for a remote beach to snorkel. I remember passing a dead donkey and a couple of buzzards on a rock and dirt road in my little rented VW bug. The smell was intense. Luckily the wind was coming from the sea. About the time the dead donkey smell registers it is time to gun it to get over the boulder and up and over the hill to the top of the sea cliffs. The short walk further up, looking down into the lagoon where a few snorklers were disappearing into the waters. The view of the sea was truly aqua. A whiff of roasted garlic took us up to the top.
A few small palapa covered tables are scattered between the rocks. We sit and two cold Corona’s with lime wedges on the rim appear. There is only one thing on the menu. Shrimp and pasta. Okay. Sold.
I will never forget the wonder and deliciousness of it all. Just to make it more unbelievable two whales surfaced on the distant sea horizon.
Oh, Mexico, how I love you.



One lb.Whole Grain Capellili

See Joy of Cooking 1997, page 295

Sauce
One 14 ½ oz. Can Del Monte Diced Tomatoes
One 5oz can V8 vegetable juice
One package fresh oregano or broad leafed-Cuban oregano plant
One to two cups fresh diced ripe tomatoes
One or two hot peppers, diced
Four to six cloves fresh garlic,
(depending on size) cut in half or quarters
extra-virgin olive oil

Heat olive oil, add garlic, peppers, fresh oregano. Cook until flavor opens. Add tomatoes and V8. Simmer.

2lbs. fresh or frozen shrimp

Grill over open flame in shells, good with mesquite wood.
Do not over cook. Taste for doneness.
Shell and add to sauce or serve separately.
You can grill other vegetables at the same.

Add a bit of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.