Saturday, October 31, 2009

My new favorite dish: Pasta with zucchini and peppers

I'm becoming a little more experimental in the kitchen these days, as I'm trying to save money so I'll make new dishes out of the stuff that's cluttering my cabinets, rather than run to the store every three days for the same ol', same ol'.

So I adapted this recipe that I found in an old Real Simple magazine, simply adding some shrimp I had in the freezer and some yellow peppers I had in the fridge. I thought this would be kind of bland because there's not a lot of spices, but the beauty is in its simplicity.

Linguine With Zucchini and Chickpeas
from Real Simple magazine

Serves 4
Hands-on Time: 15m
Total Time: 20m

Ingredients
12 ounces linguine (3/4 of a box)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 small zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
kosher salt
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
6 to 8 large shrimp (my addition)
1/2 cup sliced yellow peppers (my addition)

Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, drain, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, tossing often, until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, garlic, yellow peppers, shrimp and red pepper and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Divide the pasta among bowls and top with the zucchini mixture and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.

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