Shrimp Puttanesca

Healing through the power of food

I have been going through some major family tragedies lately. Granted, I haven’t been posting as much as I should. Or cooking that much. But sometimes it is so necessary to just shop things up and throw them in a pan. My best friend has been hanging around (bless her soul) and cooking with her is amazing. We pretend we are on our own Food Network show, we talk, complain, listen…all while cooking. Usually, what we cook is so simple and quick. It just tastes so much better because not only do we moan and groan while we eat (Mmmmm…this is soooooo good! / Girl, this is delicious / Bella, nothing beats this), but its made with friendship and companionship.

Our most recent dish used some of my leftovers, and was totally impromptu. Being two Italian girls, we tend to reach for the same things: pasta and tomatoes. When we make pasta sauce, we use whole plum tomatoes out of the can and rather have it light and refreshing than dense and meaty. We then add a vegetable, which in this case was olives. We didn’t realize we made Puttanesca sauce until we sat down and actually looked at it. Usually it is used with a meat, but it tasted even better with the shrimp we peeled. Not to mention they cook so much faster…because who really wants to wait for food to be ready.

Shrimp Puttanesca

SHRIMP PUTTANESCA

2 cups of frozen shrimp, peeled, de-tailed, and defrosted
1 cup of pitted black olives, roughly chopped
1/2 can of plum tomatoes, chopped and with most of the can’s juice
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb of spaghetti
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put shrimp in bowl of cold water for 10 – 15 minutes. When soft, de-tail and peel.

2. Start a pot of boiling water for the spaghetti. You will need it boiling by the time you cook the shrimp.

3. In a sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium-high and add garlic.

4. Continually stir garlic so that it does not burn. After a minute, add the tomatoes and olives.

5. Add red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper.

6. Simmer on medium-low until the tomatoes break down and the sauce becomes a little thick. Add water or extra tomato juice if it becomes too thick for your taste.

7. When the sauce is cooked, add the shrimp. Cook a few minutes until shrimp are pink. They will shrink!

8. While the shrimp is cooking, add the pasta to the pasta-pot. Drain when cooked and add to the sauce pain. Toss to coat and serve hot.