I made this in “desperation-mode”, when there was very little available in our fridge: a bunch of Swiss chard harvested from our garden, and a little over half a cup of tomato puree leftover from another recipe.   All I needed was to defrost a bag of large shrimp, and a quick, tasty dinner arrived at the table!

FETUCCINE WITH SHRIMP, SWISS CHARD AND TOMATOES

dried fetuccine (enough for two)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
big bunch of Swiss chard
12-15 large shrimp
zest of a lemon
tomato puree
salt and pepper

Place a large pan with salted water to boil.

Shred the chard leaves after removing the central, tough stem. If you have extra time, dice the stems and start sauteing them a few minutes before adding the rest of the leaves; otherwise send them to your compost bin.

Heat the olive oil, add the diced shallots, cook for a couple of minutes, add  the chard, season lightly with salt and pepper,  and cook in medium heat until it starts to get soft, about 5 minutes.  Increase the heat to high and add the shrimp.  Cook until they turn opaque, add the tomato puree, lemon zest to taste,  simmer a couple of minutes, adjusting the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the shrimp mixture.  Simmer everything together to perform the beautiful marriage of sauce and pasta, adding some of the pasta cooking water if necessary.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Normally I don’t add Swiss chard to a tomato based sauce, but this worked so well, I intend to do it again.  Amounts are all very flexible, of course.  Most people will enjoy sauteing  some garlic with the shallots, so go right ahead…

para receita em portugues, siga ate’ a proxima pagina

CANTINHO BRASILEIRO

FETUCCINE COM CAMARAO, ACELGA E TOMATES
fetuccine (suficiente para duas pessoas)
1 colher  de sopa de azeite
1 cebola, bem picadinha
1 maco grande de acelga
12-15 de camaroes grandes
raspas de um limão
purê de tomate
sal e pimenta

Coloque uma panela grande com água salgada para ferver.

Corte a acelga em fatias finissimas (retirando a nervure central).   Aqueça o azeite, acrescente a cebola picada, cozinhe por alguns minutos, adicione a acelga, tempere levemente com sal e pimenta e cozinhe em fogo médio até que ela começa a ficar macia, cerca de 5 minutos. Aumente o fogo e acrescente o camarão. Cozinhe até que fiquem opacos, adicione o purê de tomate, as raspas de limão, cozinhe por mais uns dois minutos, ajustando o tempero com sal e pimenta.

Enquanto isso, cozinhe o macarrão até ficar al dente. Reserve um pouco da água de cozimento, escorra  a massa e adicione  à frigideira com a mistura de camarão.  Cozinhar suavemente tudo junto, adicionando um pouco da água de cozimento da massa, se achar necessário.