Cooking with Coley

I LOVE pasta.  Carbs in general really.  So when I have one of my many cravings, I try to pack in as much protein and veggies as possible to save some cals and get some nutrients.

Here’s a super yummy pasta dish I made recently that is filling and nutritious.  I got creative after a wonderful Russo’s excursion, so my fridge was packed with produce.  If you don’t have all the ingredients on hand, use what you have -it’s a great recipe to modify!

(Healthy) Cajun Shrimp Pasta Recipe

What you’ll need for 2-3 (large) servings:

• 1 dozen small red round tomatoes on the vine, cut in quarters
• 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups frozen pees
• Fresh basil (handful)
• 1/2 white onion chopped
• 6 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine (you don’t want anything too sweet)
• 1 lb shrimp (cleaned and de-shelled)
• Fresh Romano cheese, grated
• Cajun seasoning (to taste)
• 2 tbsps light cream (only adds 60 cals total!)
• 1 tbsp light butter (only adds 45 cals total!)
• 3 servings whole wheat pasta (I used farfalle aka bow ties)
• 4 thin pieces of prosciutto chopped (optional – Ryan particularly liked the addition of this.  By only adding a minimal amount, you can add a nice saltiness and flavor; pancetta would also work)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Procedure

• Sauté onions and garlic in 1 EVOO
• Add prosciutto and sauté
• Add mushrooms, butter, and tomatoes and allow them to cook for a few minutes
• Add wine and basil and cook for another 5 minutes until tomatoes break down
• Add cream
• Cover and simmer sauce for approximately 10 minutes and add Cajun seasoning to taste  and peas at about 5 minutes in (you can also add fresh grated cheese or 1 tbsp Romano cheese here, but it’s optional and will thicken the sauce) Note: Peas do not take long to cook/thaw out, so you want to add them when nearly finished so they remain bright green for aesthetic -reasons.
• Cook pasta separately; keep slightly hard (it will continue to cook when added to sauce)
• Season shrimp (either with a bit of Cajun, or simple salt and pepper will do) and stir fry separately in a pan with EVOO (make sure oil is hot)
• Toss pasta in sauce for approximately 2 minutes (or until pasta is cooked to your liking), toss shrimp in and serve
• Add fresh grated Romano on top (I used the Pampered Chef grater I recently won—I love it!  Using fresh cheese makes a world of difference)

Oh and before you go, have you voted yet today for my soup recipe in the New England Country Soup Challenge?  If not, please do! http://www.soupchallenge.com/view_recipe.php?entry_id=21

You can vote every day, once a day, until February 13.