classics (a.k.a. food you can make without thinking)

I used to make this dish, which is basically pasta with shrimp and feta, about once a week. Sadly, this was several years ago, when I lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where the shrimp could only be as fresh as their drivers. I'm lucky now to have plump, fresh, affordable gulf shrimp to play around with.

Around 2002/03, when I started making this often, everybody was buzzing about feta cheese and its ideal companions, shrimp and tomatoes. Just seemed natural to toss it with pasta, I guess. Food magazines all weighed in with their own variations (olives. pine nuts. basil. etc.) for a good three years. I can pull any of my old Cooking Light cookbooks from that time period and I'll bet you a stock pot there are at least three recipes in each index.

Of course, tastes change. Feta cheese is so early 2k. Toss those shrimp with some flax seed if you want to be up-to-date. Sometimes I just like to feel dated.



Pasta with Shrimp and Feta

• 2 or 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• one onion, halved & sliced thin
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 or 3 Tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or basil)
• 2 or 3 diced ripe tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes (add extra tomatoes if you like sauce really tomato-ey)
• 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth, or a few tablespoons of wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (or one minced fresh jalapeno pepper)
• raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 pound pasta, like angel hair or penne
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (plain or garlic & herb)

1. Put a big pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Salt it generously.
2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and saute 2 minutes, stirring.
3. Add tomatoes (with their juices) and wine. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
4. Cover the saute pan and simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.
5. When the pasta has about 4 more minutes to go, add the shrimp to the saute pan. Raise heat to medium, cover, and let shrimp cook in the sauce (about 4 minutes or so).
6. Drain pasta and return to its cooking pot. Check sauce for seasoning. Good things to add for flavor are pesto, tabasco, or extra vinegar.
7. Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and toss (the pot gives you enough room to get everything really mixed together). Top each serving with a good bit of feta.

Serves 3 with a little left over.

classics (a.k.a. food you can make without thinking)