Shrimp Pasta with Bacon, Rosemary, & Tomatoes

Delicious bacon-y, garlicky, shrimp pasta

This recipe started with a Saveur recipe for Shrimp with Pancetta and Rosemary. I didn't have pancetta, but I had bacon. I didn't have a whole tomato, but I had half a container of grape tomatoes slightly past their prime. And I wanted pasta to make it more of a whole entree. Actually, I pretty much always want pasta.

Start by cooking up 8oz of diced bacon in a skillet until it's nice and crispy:

Like this:

Take the bacon out of the pan, and discard all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat. Add about two tablespoons of olive oil, heat the pan back up, and throw in four cloves of minced garlic. Let that garlic juuuust start to turn golden, no more than this:

Season some peeled, deviened, cut-in-half medium shrimp with salt and pepper, and toss them with the garlic until they turn pink all over:

Add some grape tomotoes, cut in halves or quarters (depending on how big they are), a half-cup of white wine, and some minced fresh rosemary if you've got it- or dried rosemary if you don't. It'll look like way too much liquid:

But after about 2-3 minutes it cooks down into a nice sauce, so add some cooked pasta:

And that bacon you started with:

And toss it all together:

Don't forget Parmesan cheese over top!

Ingredients

1/4 pound dry spaghetti (or other long pasta)
8oz bacon, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp
4 cloves garlic, minced
18 medium shrimp, peeled & de-veined & cut in half (or 36 tiny shrimp, whole)
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (or 3/4 tsp dried crushed rosemary)
1 C grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 C white wine
grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions

Cook the dry pasta according to package directions, drain, & toss w/ 1 tsp olive oil. Return to pot to keep warm while you make the shrimp to go with it.

Saute the bacon in a 12-inch skillet until crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove the bacon to paper-towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon fat; add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the remaining bacon fat & return the skillet to medium heat. Add the garlic & stir constantly until garlic softens and begins to turn slightly golden- don't overcook it or the garlic will turn bitter! Season the shrimp with the salt and pepper and add them to the skillet. Cook about 2 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink all over. Add the rosemary, tomatoes, & wine and cook 2-3 more minutes until the liquid reduces by about half. Add the cooked pasta and bacon to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Shrimp Fried Rice

The important thing with fried rice, or any stir-fried dish, is to have all your ingredients cut up in little bowls or dishes and ready to go, before you ever turn the burner on. The egg should be cracked and beaten, ready in a little bowl. The herbs and spices and liquids should all be pre-measured. The shrimp should be peeled and, if they're big, cut into smaller pieces. Vegetables should be fully cleaned, peeled, and cut to size. To save on dirtying dishes, you can put your sliced/diced/minced/measured ingredients in together in combined bowls according to what goes into the pan at the same time.

If you follow this recipe exactly, you will have fabulous fried rice. You will also have fabulous fried rice if you follow this recipe very loosely. Use up any kind of veggies, including leftover cooked veggies, and use the recipe as a rough guide to the relative proportions of veg to protien to rice and flavorings.

A time-saving hint: hit up the salad bar in the produce section for small amounts of pre-cut and pre-shredded veggies to stir-fry. You can get exactly how much you need, and the prep is already done. In small quantities, it barely matters that the unit price is higher than whole veggies.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb peeled & de-veined shrimp
• 1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1/3 C chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 C sliced green onions
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 C chilled cooked brown rice
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp lo-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp water

Instructions
Combine shrimp, ginger and crushed red pepper in small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Heat sesame oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add bell pepper, green onions, and garlic; stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until tender. Add shrimp mixture to pan; stir-fry 4-5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Add cooked rice; stir-fry 2 minutes. Push rice mixture to sides of pan, forming a well in center. Add egg to center of pan, and let cook 30 seconds; toss with rice, and stir-fry until egg is cooked. Stir in soy sauce and water; cook until thoroughly heated. 4 servings.