Nope, this recipe didn’t come from an Italian cookbook.  I hope Martha Stewart won’t mind that I took some liberties with the title for her creation,   but it just sounds too lovely in the language of Dante: “… Gamberetti… Rucola… Pomodori,”  …just beautiful!

This year I insist on “quick and easy dinners,” because life is awfully busy for us here in LA.  It’s now our final month at UCLA, so this type of recipe is a life-saver.  Cook some pasta (we used cappellini, that’s ready in five minutes),  grab some lettuce for a simple salad, and all of a sudden you’ll have a meal from a trattoria by the Mediterranean Sea.

SAUTEED SHRIMP WITH ARUGULA AND TOMATOES
(adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, June 2010)

1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 garlic clove, lightly smashed
1 pound large shrimp
4 cups baby arugula leaves
salt and pepper
juice of half a lemon

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes in gentle heat, until it gets fragrant and starts to develop some color.  Remove the garlic and discard it.  Add the tomatoes, season with a little salt and pepper, increase the heat, and cook, stirring often, until they blister and release some liquid.

Add the shrimp and cook until opaque, not more than 4 minutes. Add the arugula leaves, a little more salt, and toss until wilted.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the pan, and toss to combine.   Adjust seasoning, and serve over pasta or white rice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  My preference for arugula or spinach is always changing.  Sometimes I settle on spinach, for its mellowness and delicate taste.   Then, my mood switches and I grab bag after bag of arugula at the store and bring it home.  Its leaves are sturdier, it wilts with dignity.  😉 And the peppery bite, no spinach can match it.  As you might guess, I’m going through the arugula phase right now.

ONE YEAR AGO:  Grissini