Pasta with Shrimp, Feta Cheese & Tomatoes
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Southern
Serves: 6
One summer I went down to visit with my Daddy in Florida. One mornin’, this gal pulled in the driveway and went to open her trunk. I told Daddy she was out front. “Oh, great! That’s my shrimp lady,” he replied. “’Scuse me?” I asked. “My shrimp lady.” He repeated.
I met her over to the oyster bar and struck up a conversation. Seems she’s divorced and her ex-husband is a shrimp boat Captain. But, when he couldn’t make her alimony payment, she made him pay her in fresh shrimp. The problem now was how to find customers for her bounty. So, I hooked her up with all my retired Air Force buddies. She sold all her fresh shrimp and was so grateful for my help, that she gave me all those beautiful fresh jumbo shrimp for only 3.00 a pound!
So, in that two week vacation, we ate boiled shrimp with hot sauce, coconut shrimp, shrimp with pasta…you name it! If it had shrimp in it, we ate it! Yum!
In addition, the great thing about this particular recipe is that you can substitute the shrimp for lobster, or salmon, or even fried Andouille sausage pieces. Throw in a nice salad and you’ve got yourself a feast!
PREP TIME
15 mins
COOK TIME
20 mins
TOTAL TIME
35 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 16-ounce package Pasta
11⁄2 pounds fresh Shrimp (cooked and peeled)
1⁄3 cup Virgin olive oil
⅓ cup butter
3 cloves Garlic (pressed)
11⁄2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 Lemon (freshly squeezed for juice)
1⁄2 cup Bulgarian feta cheese (crumbled)
1⁄2 cup Fresh cilantro (w/out stems)
1 cup Sun-dried tomatoes (soaked ‘til plump/drain and slice) or
1 cup Cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
1⁄2 teaspoon Hot pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1 cup Grated Asiago cheese or grated sheep’s milk Romano
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the pasta according to directions. (NOTE: Save 1⁄4 cup of water you cooked pasta in.) Drain pasta in strainer.
Add olive oil and butter to the same pasta cooking pot which is still hot. Once the butter melts, press the garlic and add to the olive oil and butter mixture.
Add the drained pasta and toss again.
Now add all the ingredients (salt hot pepper flakes, cilantro, garlic powder, hot pepper flakes, cilantro, tomatoes /fresh and sun-dried, shrimp, and lemon).
Add the grated Asiago and Feta and gently toss.
Once plated, sprinkle the Asiago or Romano on top and serve immediately! Dadgum!
NOTES
If you have any vegetarian friends (L.A. is full of them, folks!), just leave out the fish and add all the rest of the ingredients and some quickly steamed broccoli or green string beans so they retain their bright green color.