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| Pasta with Asparagus Porcini | ||
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| I made this dish a few nights after I got home from that butt kickin' San Antonio Tour. We drove 3500 miles in 8 days!!! The Slim Men were mighty T-A-R-D when we got home. It took me a couple days to recover. But when I did...
I went to the Safeway and grabbed whatever looked good. I found some thin asparagus and some shrimp. I went back to the Slim Shack, and discovered some dried porcini mushrooms that my Mom, the Slim Mom, gave to me after a trip to Italy. So this is what I did . . .step by step . . .inch by inch... Ingredients... 1 1/3 pounds of medium shrimp 1 pound of linguine pasta 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil...plus a little bit for drizzlin' 8 cloves of garlic, peeled 1/2 cup or so of dried porcini mushrooms 1 bunch of thin asparagus...about 2 cups when prepped and sliced 1/4 cup good Chardonnay 1/4 cup vegetable broth 1 cup of slivered almonds crushed red pepper to taste freshly grated parmiggiano or romano cheese, if you like! I put a large pot of cold water on to boil, with the burner on full blast. This is for the pasta, which we'll get to later... Then I took about a 1/2 cup of dried porcini mushrooms, and put them in a bowl and added maybe a cup and 1/2 of water. Let 'em soak! Then, I put some extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan. If you can't find extra virgin olive oil, at least try to find one that hasn't been around the block too many times. I put the heat on low. I chopped some garlic. I'm ashamed to say how much...8 cloves. Dude! My Uncle Oscar says that just because you love garlic, doesn't mean you have to use a ton . . .but I love garlic, and its so good for you, that I usually end up using a bucketful. I chopped up the garlic pretty fine and tossed it in the olive oil and stirred. I raised the heat to medium. I took the asparagus-thin, beautiful baby asparagus-and held an end in each hand. Then, I bent them in an arc until they broke. I tossed the stalk end away, and saved the rest. Then, I chopped the asparagus at an angle. If you chop them straight up, into little circles, they take much longer to cook, and don't turn out as tender. If you slice 'em at an angle, it tastes mo' better. Don't slice up the tips. Leave 'em whole! My Aunt Lorraine peels off the outer skin of the asparagus. I only do that if they're really big-like the size of a Louisville Slugger. I tossed the asparagus in with the olive oil and garlic. Then I added (a lot!) of crushed red pepper. Some like it hot! Then, I scooped the porcini mushrooms out of the water, which had turned dark brown, and I squeezed all the water out of the porcinis, and tossed them in with the asparagus. Then, I strained the remaining porcini water through a paper towel, and tossed the strained water in the sauce. I added a tablespoon or two of really good Chardonnay, and then added about a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. I raised the heat to medium high. I washed the shrimp-medium sized, about a pound and a 1/3-and de-shelled them. Then I de-veined them. That's when you slice them down the spine, and remove the Poop Sack. I rinsed off them little shrimpies and tossed them in with the porcini mushrooms and the asparagus. Always remember-stir, stir, stir!! Gently, with love and affection... When the shrimp were done, I removed the saucepan from the heat. When the pasta water came to a boil, I added way too much salt (2 tablespoons,) and I added a pound of linguine. You know why I used linguine? It was all I had!! Slim pickins in the Slim Cupboard!! Don't forget!! You gotta cook pasta in a lot of water at the highest possible heat. When the pasta was al dente (firm,) I drained it and put it in a warm bowl. I drizzled the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil, stirred gently, and then I added the sauce and mixed it all together. The porcini mushrooms (and their strained water) give this sauce a brownish tint, and brown is not my favorite color, but the flavor of porcini mushrooms is indescribably delish. As the sauce and the pasta mingled... I took about a cup of slivered almonds, and I toasted them in a dry pan over high heat. Don't take your eyes off the nuts. It's not good to burn your nuts! Your nuts should always be nice and warm and toasty and golden. Then, dish up the pasta, and top it off with some toasted slivered almonds. Some people use freshly grated parmiggiano or romano cheese on top, and that's all right with me. As long as there's some Slim Man playing in the background!!! Mangia!!!!! |
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