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.

Grape Tomato Confit

A little more than a week ago I attended a cooking demonstration. One of the dishes prepared was a stuffed flank steak, which was delicious--but for me, the real wow factor of the dish was the topping: tomato confit.

This was so unbelievably easy to make that it really can't be called a recipe. There's no reason not to enjoy this on a regular basis--especially when tomato season is in full swing and your garden is bursting with bright red orbs just waiting to be used.

So what is a confit, exactly? According to Wisegeek, it's a method of cooking something in fat--usually meats and poultry (we've all heard of duck confit), but also vegetables to achieve almost a jam-like consistency.

And the flavor--oh, it just melts in your mouth. It made every bite of my delicious butter-braised steak an adventure. It took a plain-old steak and turned it into something special. The fruit retains it's natural flavor and gains a certain creaminess; there's definitely a tang, too, from the vinegar. I can imagine it over a grilled chicken breast, or served warm on a big green salad.


Grape Tomato Confit

1 pint grape tomatoes, washed and patted dry
about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
a couple of generous pinches kosher salt
several grinds freshly ground black pepper
pinch dried thyme
about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

In a small skillet or saucepan, cover tomatoes with oil enough that they're all bathed in it, with some tops exposed. Set over medium-low heat and leave them to come up to temperature. When the oil begins to sizzle, add salt, pepper and dried thyme. Continue to cook until you hear the tomatoes begin to pop. Let several pop before removing from heat--you want most of them to have visibly wrinkly skin, but not all of them should explode. Pour vinegar over and gently stir beofre letting cool. Serve over your favorite steak, chicken or anything you like.

Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days--however the oil will harden so be sure to keep the tomatoes in a container that can be heated.