Sauté Shrimp Primavera Ptitim (Israeli couscous)

Ptitim, also called Israeli couscous, is my new favorite pasta! There is a slight chewiness to them that is very pleasing to eat, somewhere between a pastina and barley.

I've had them before in restaurants, but this is the first time I cook them. They really keep their shape through cooking, reheating and they don't clump like couscous. They cook a tad faster than other pasta because of their small shape, and the sauce really cling to them. It's awesome!

I made something pretty simple, with stuff that I already have in the fridge: primavera sauce purchased at Jean Talon market, broccoli and shrimp. Quite straight forward, really....

Sauté Shrimp Primavera Ptitim

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup Ptitim/Israeli couscous
• 6-8 shrimps, peeled, devained
• pinch of salt, pepper & chili flakes
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups of your favorite sauce, ready-to-eat
• About 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Boil the water, then add the ptitim, and simmer covered, for 10 minutes. Drain under cold water, set aside.

In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat, sauté shrimps just until they turn opaque (which means they are cooked) sprinkle the salt, pepper and chili flakes, stir around to coat, set shrimps aside in a bowl.

Use the same pot & add the sauce over medium low heat until it starts bubbling. Add the cheese, it will thicken the sauce. Stir to mix well, then add the ptitim.

Mojito shrimp ceviche

Six Feet Under, season four, episode 50, Claire said to Billy: "Hey, do you like ceviche?" And that's all it took for me to jump out of my comfortable vegging state & head into the kitchen to make some, almost immediately.

See, my goal today was to not get out of the house at all. So I made this ceviche with jumbo frozen shrimps instead of fresh white fish. The lemon juice came from fresh lemons that I squeezed myself & froze in ice cube trays a couple of weeks ago. (It's really hard for me to resist buying a lot of lemon at 10 for $1.79!!! Once the cubes defrost, it's like you had just juiced them)

The marinade was inspired by a Ginger Mojito I had on Friday with some friends. So just like that, the final product is a combination of Six Feet Under, Friday night drinks and a fridge & freezer raid.

Mojito shrimp ceviche
(serves 4)

• 12 jumbo shrimps (defrosted if frozen) shelled & devained.
• 2 cups of fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons or more, depending on the size)
• 1 tbsp white rum
  
• 1 medium-ripe avocado, cubed
• 1 mango, cubed (I used Ataulfo because that's what I had)
• about 20-30 mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Prepare a big bowl of ice. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt. Cook the shrimps for about 30-45 seconds, then throw them into the ice right away to stop the cooking process. Chop them into the same size as the avocado & mango cubes.

Put lemon juice, rum and everything into a big bowl. Make sure it covers all the ingredients well. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.

When ready, serve with tortilla chips or boiled corn on the cobs.

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus

Yummy. Quick to prepare. That's all I need to say!

I used asparagus, tiger shrimps and pasta meat sauce that I made & stocked in my freezer. Which you can substitute with whatever you prefer or have on hand (string beans, chicken, you get the point)

So, pour yourself a glass of wine, and here we go...

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus
per portion, approximately

• 6-7 asparagus (because I like a lot of vegetables) washed.
• spaghetti (the amount that you want to eat)
• 1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce (I don't like a pool of sauce in my pasta dish) with meat or without.
• a splash of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3-4 shrimps, shelled & cleaned
• a couple of grates of lemon zest & squeezes of lemon juice
• pepper

In a medium large pot, boil water. Throw asparagus in for about 2 minutes. Take out and dump into a pot of really cold water to stop them from cooking any longer.

Keep the water boiling, cook pasta until al dente. Remove pot from heat to drain.

Put a pan on the burner, lower heat to medium high. Put meat sauce in and stir. Heat til bubbly, which takes only a half minute or so, drop the pasta back in. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Place asparagus on plate. Put pasta & sauce on top.

Bring the pan back on the burner. Heat olive oil & swirl it around. Throw in the garlic. The immediately the shrimp. Stir. While shrimps cook, add in a couple of squeezes of lemon juice. Once they are cooked, grind pepper on top, and add the lemon zest. Place on top of everything else in the place.

What? you already finished your glass of wine???? Tsk tsk tsk!!! Go on, quick! Pour yourself another and grab a fork. I won't tell....