Monday, May 3, 2010

Garlic Shrimp & Sweet Pea Pasta

I bought some adorable salad shrimp at the grocery store the other day (the pre-cooked, frozen kind) they came in little 4 ounce bags & I've been itching to make something with them. I discovered several months ago that shrimp is fabulously low in fat and calories, & I decided to start cooking with it more often. The following is a recipe I've been making for a few years now, but I've modified it to accommodate my diet.

Another recent discovery was caloriecount.about.com, most especially their Recipe Analysis. I can input almost any recipe (the ingredients portion) and adjust the serving sizes then BAM! it calculates the nutrition facts and the weight of each serving. Having a food scale is imperative, IMO, not just for Weight Watchers but for ANYONE who wants to diet or to just be mindful of their portions.

That being said, here is the recipe for tonight's dinner as well as a link to a great food scale.

                                   Garlic Shrimp & Sweet Pea Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp white wine
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped onions
4 oz shrimp
4 oz whole wheat pasta
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (if desired)
1 tsp kosher salt (for pasta water)

In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt if desired to the water & throw in your wheat pasta of choice. Approx. cooking time 6-8 minutes.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium to medium high heat. When it's rippling, add the onions & cook until translucent. Add red pepper flakes & garlic (careful not to let it burn!) Add shrimp & peas, cook through (allowing any water to evaporate) then add the wine. Allow it to reduce almost completely. Toss in the pasta or serve on top.

Makes two 7 Point servings.

**edited to adjust recipe (cooking process was an experiment in less is more.) 

2 comments:

  1. This sounds yummy. Do you defrost the shrimp before hand? I think a teaspoon of shredded parm on the top would be yummy also!

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  2. I am using tiny salad shrimp, so I'm just going to throw them in, but usually I use the medium - large (ish) precooked shrimp & I do run them under cold water to thaw them out, then pull off their tails.

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