The Food Wino

Thai Sweet Chili Pasta with Scallops

I created this recipe after having fish tacos with my husband on his birthday.  We went to a pier in Ventura and had fish tacos.  Well I had mine with shrimp.  They were simple and obviously made with a sauce that consisted mainly of Thai Sweet Chili sauce.  I topped mine with their mild and extremely tasty Tomatillo Avocado salsa. 

Fast forward a couple weeks.  Jeff and I went to the Channel Islands Farmers Market and visited Fresh Fish Fanatics.  They were selling fresh, local, live spot prawns.  I'd never had them before and I was SSSOOO curious.  So I put together a really simple pasta dish that I ended up adoring.  I wanted to make it again to test out my measurements before posting the recipe.  Unfortunately I was unable to track down any of those FANTASTIC spot prawns this last weekend.  But I was still craving the pasta- so I substituted some scallops we had.  Turned out mighty tasty. 

This is a simple recipe that comes together pretty quickly.  You'll want to make sure to have some flavorful parmesan cheese to top your pasta with.  Don't settle for the store brand already shredded parmesan.  Normally I don't have too much of an issue with people using it - but this dish really comes together with the salty,nutty flavor of freshly shredded parmesan.

PS~ Don't forget you can sub shrimp in this recipe.  Also, I think some bell pepper slices added to this dish would be a really nice addition.

1 lbs of small to medium sized scallops or shrimp

1/2 lbs linguine pasta

1/3 cup of water

1/3 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (My favorite is the Mae Ploy brand)

3 TBSP Salsa verde

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp minced garlic

2 green onions, thinly sliced

freshly shredded parmesan cheese

 

1) Start your linguine cooking according to the package directions.

2) Meanwhile in a large skillet combine the water, butter, chili sauce, salsa verde and garlic.  Over medium heat, bring to a simmer.

3) Continue to simmer until the pasta is almost ready.  When pasta is nearly ready, add the scallops to to the simmering sauce and gently cook through.  This should only take a couple of minutes.  Once cooked through, turn off the heat.

4) Drain the pasta and add it directly to the scallops and sauce.  Divide pasta and scallops onto two plates.  Drizzle remaining sauce over the dishes and then top with the sliced green onions and shredded parmesan.

 

 

Poblano Pesto with Shrimp

 

I love pretty much anything that's made with poblanos.  Their buttery, peppery and sweet heat are SO tasty to me that it makes me drool.  I wanted to make a recipe that incorporated poblanos with a pasta (that's me - carb and noodle freak!).  And I just love poblanos and shrimp together - yummy!  You could also make this recipe with sausage, grilled chicken or anything else that you'd desire. One of my co-workers used some of the left over pesto to make a panini - yum! 

This is a very simple recipe and I hope you give it a try.

2 large poblano peppers

1/4 white onion

3 cloves garlic

4 tbsp shredded cotija + extra for topping

3 tbsp toasted pine nuts

1 tbsp chopped cilantro + extra for topping

1 1/2 tbsp oil

3 green onions, thinly sliced for topping

1/2 lbs penne pasta, cooked and drained

2-4 tbsp Mojo de Ajo (Can sub. olive oil with minced garlic)

8 oz mushrooms sliced in half

1 lbs of shrimp, shelled and deviened

1) Heat broiler to high, on a foil lined sheet place the poblano peppers and 1/4 white onion.  Allow to char/blacken on all sides.  Remove from the oven and transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with saran wrap.  Allow peppers to sit for 15 minutes or until cool to the touch.  Remove the charred skin, core and seeds.  Place in a food processor with the charred onion, garlic cloves, 4 tbsp cotija cheese, pine nuts and 1 tbsp cilantro.  Pulse until smooth and drizzle in the oil with the processor running.  Taste for salt and pepper - season as desired. Set pesto aside.

2) In a wok or large sautee pan over high heat, heat the mojo do ajo and then add the shrimp and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring often until the shrimp are cooked through.  Remove from the heat and lightly salt.

3) Combine the warm cooked pasta, shrimp, mushrooms and poblano pesto.  Mix well and top with additional cilantro, cotija and sliced green onions.

Drunken Noodles (Spicy)

 

This is another dish from Eat Thai Tonight.  If you go to their website there's a video that you can watch. I went a little heavier on the noodles than the recipe called for (because I love noodles!) and made some minor substitutions.  Below is how I made it. I really recommend visiting the Eat Thai Tonight website. 

SAUCE:

1 1/2 TBSP fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 TBSP vinegar

1 TBSP sweet soy sauce

INGREDIENTS:

300 grams of fresh noodles (any style), or dried rice noodles that have been soaked in warm water at least an hour - or until pliable.

150 grams of chopped chicken

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 cup fresh basil

1/2 onion, sliced into small wedges

1/2 roma tomato cut into 4 wedges

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 serrano chilies, sliced into thin rounds

1/4 cup oil

 

1) Combine the chopped meat, garlic and half the sliced chilies. Allow to sit while you prep the remaining ingredients.

2) In a wok over high heat, heat the oil until smoking.  Add the meat,garlic, chili mixture and saute until mostly cooked through.

3) Add the broccoli and onion and stir fry for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to medium-high and add the noodles.  Stir fry another 1-2 minutes.

4) Add the sauce mixture, remaining chilies and tomato wedges.  Stir fry until well mixed.

5) Remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. Stir well and serve.