Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Shrimp, Tomato and Green Beans

I found myself alone Sunday night while my husband and his buddies enjoyed an afternoon of male bonding. When the hungries hit, I decided to cook myself some pasta.

This dish comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta, tastes fantastic and is impressive enough for company. The sauce is made in the same method as tomato confit, adding garlic, shrimp and green beans to the mix. Tossed with al dente whole wheat spaghetti and strained to remove excess oil, the meal was a delightful mix of textures: chewy pasta, tender shrimp, soft tomato chunks and the gentle pop of still-firm green beans. The oil mixture clung to the spaghetti nicely without having too much sauce. I used a little red pepper flake, too, which left a lingering heat on my lips. Lovely.

Here's how I made it:

After putting the water on for the spaghetti, I started my olive oil (about 1 cup) over a low burner with a chopped tomato and sliced garlic with a pinch of salt. When the tomato skin visibly wrinkled, I added my shrimp and (thawed, previously frozen) green beans along with a generous sprinkle of red pepper flake. When the shrimp were opaque, I took the whole business off the heat and added about 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar to finish. By that time the pasta was finished, so I tossed it together with the sauce before plating. To plate, I used tongs to pile up the pasta in the center of my bowl before using a slotted spoon to gather up all the remaining goodies to pile on top.

If you want to watch an instructional video of oil-poaching shrimp, you can see one here. Obviously it's a different recipe, but the method is the same.