Week Night Delight

In our neck of the woods both school and soccer are starting up this week.  That means busier days and less time to spend on cooking dinner.  I've got a tasty little number for you to add to your weeknight rotation.  It's seasonal (tomatoes are so good right now), super quick (could be done in 20 min or less) and pretty good for you too (tomatoes are something you just can't get enough of and there's the shrimp which is an excellent source or protein and Omega-3 fatty acid).  I adapted the recipe from something Jamie Oliver recently posted but lightened it up a little.

This is what you need, a few tomatoes (mine are from the garden-yay!), a lemon, some olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, cognac (totally optional) and a little bit of half and half.

You will also need about 10 0z of peeled and deveined shrimp.

And some pasta.  You can use regular tagliatelle, or like this one, a spinach flavored egg pasta.  If that's too crazy for you, try some linguine or fettuccine.

Since everything cooks up pretty quickly, I suggest chopping your tomatoes, garlic and herb after you get the pasta water going but before you start cooking anything.

 While the salted water is working, melt one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil over medium to medium high heat.

Then toss in the tomatoes, shrimp, garlic and lemon zest and saute for a few minutes.  Add the cognac next if you choose to use it and then the half and half.  Add half of the fresh herbs and allow to simmer for a few more minutes.  Next you'll remove from the heat, season with salt, pepper and the juice of a lemon.  Toss with the pasta and the rest of the herbs and you're done!

I'm going to apologize for the poor photos again.  My excuse this time is that my 4 year old nephew was over for dinner and I was trying to rush.  He loved it by the way!  I figured out the calories and I'd say even with a little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top we're looking at no more than 400 calories (I'm calling this 6 servings) per serving.  Have a little salad on the side and you've got one nice looking dinner on the table on a crazy weeknight.

Tagliatelle with Shrimp and Tomatoes

1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
4 med tomatoes diced
2 cloves garlic minced
10 oz large shrimp
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 shots cognac (optional)
1/3 cup half and half
large handful of fresh herbs-parsley, basil or both
16 oz tagliatelle pasta cooked according to directions

Heat butter and oil over med to med-high heat.  Add tomatoes, shrimp, lemon zest and garlic.  Cook for about 4 min. Add cognac and allow to burn off for a few seconds, then add the half and half and half (yikes) of the herbs.  Simmer for about 4 min more. 

Meanwhile cook pasta in salted water according to the directions.

Remove the pan from heat and season with salt and fresh ground pepper and the juice of the lemon.  Drain pasta and add to the pan with the rest of the herbs and toss until coated.  Serve with grated parm if desired (I always desire a little cheese on top!).