Tag Archives: basil

Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Pasta

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I have a love affair with pasta. I’m not a picky eater. I love all kinds of pasta and all kinds of sauces. Hubby does too. Every so often we crave for a pasta dish and by every so often, I mean once a week :)

I know I’ve posted some pasta dishes already but this time, I’m featuring a seafood that tastes really good here in Cebu – Shrimps.

This is your basic shrimp, tomato and basil that is so quick and so delish! It’s worth your prep time, I promise!

This is my version of Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Pasta:

You will need:

  • 200 gms spaghetti (cook according to package instructions; cook a minute less)
  • 1/2 lb or 1/4 kilo shrimps, peeled and deveined (I prefer mine with shells on, that’s where the flavors are)
  • small can of whole peeled tomatoes
  • a pinch of sugar
  • fresh basil, chiffonade
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

I prefer to use whole-peeled tomatoes by Merysa (made in Italy). I get mine from the importer so it’s way cheap than how much you get those imported Italian tomatoes at the grocery :)

I take my food processor and throw in the whole peeled tomatoes and juice. Pulse or chop depending on your desired consistency. You will notice that it will turn a little orange since you’ve introduced air into the tomatoes.  I don’t know where I got that. I think I read it somewhere. But just trust me on this. Why not use tomato sauce instead? It’s not the same taste. You can also skip this process if you’re in a hurry and just toss the whole-peeled tomatoes right in.

In a skillet, pour about a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil. Saute the white onions. Throw a pinch of salt and let it sweat. Do this for a few minutes. This process makes the sweetness of the onions come out (I think :) )

Throw in the garlic and shrimps together and quickly saute til the shrimps turn pink. At this stage, I season with salt and pepper just to give the shrimps more flavor.

Add half of the basil and you can smell the sweet basil and the garlic just marrying together. (I told you I have a love affair with pasta dishes).

Add the blended tomatoes. Pour the wine and simmer for a few minutes. If you want more flavor to this dish, you may add a pinch of dried basil and oregano. I prefer just plain fresh basil from my little herb garden. Add the sugar and a little bit of lemon juice.

Right before I toss in the pasta, I like to add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Simmer for a minute and throw in the remaining fresh basil. That’s it!

My really quick, easy and so good Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Pasta…it calls to me…EAT!

P.S. Italians say seafood and cheese don’t go together. It’s a NO, NO! Hey, I’m no Italian and I put cheese on just about anything. So if I fancy some parmesan, by all means. But this one is so good you won’t need it.

Enjoy!

Herb Garden Update

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I wrote a post last October about my little herb garden in pots. After 4 months, I’m proud to say that these are how my sweet basils look like.

I started with one small pot of sweet basil and now I have a lush, green sweet basil garden right in my little backyard. I haven’t bought sweet basil for four months now. Yes! When I cook pasta dishes, I just snip from my little herb garden. I discovered that the taste and aroma of freshly cut basil is different from the dried ones. The best part is not spending at all to buy fresh herbs which can get pricey. And they just really go to waste since you’ll just be needing a few so you just toss the rest into the garbage. What a waste!

I don’t have to worry about snipping them too much since trimming the top leaves actually promotes growth of the sweet basil. The more I cut the leaves the more it grows that’s why my basil is really growing.

My four-year old and I decided that we should give our plants a name. I had thought about putting labels to the herbs but I just keep forgetting. I had store-bought plant labels.

There’s my little one who volunteered to put the labels. It was early in the morning, a beautiful day to be outside and just enjoying it with my daughter and my little herb (turned vegetable garden?) :)

I’ve grown a few vegetables and herbs like tomatoes, scallions/spring onions, alugbati, red bell pepper, chilis, chives and ginger. I want dill, thyme, rosemary and a few more herbs. I will have to find time and go to Sunday Farmer’s Market at BTC soon.

I noticed though that I have ants in my little garden and they eat the leaves of some of the herbs or vegetables. How do I get rid of them? I will try the cinnamon and sugar mixture and see what happens.

Most of the herbs and vegetables have thrived though. I’m a novice in this herb gardening thing so I will have to keep reading more about how to take care of them. Meantime, I am just proud to finally have my very own herb garden.

If you guys don’t have one yet, I think you should give it a try. You can start with pots like what I did.

Happy herb-gardening!

Baked Penne With Vegetables

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I am feeling so much better today although I still got the sniffles. The weather’s been pretty bad here in Cebu these past couple of days too. It’s been raining nonstop for two days. I wish it’d stop raining. I feel sorry for those victims of the recent typhoon (sob! sob!)

On a more positive note, hubby asked if I felt better and if I had the energy to cook pasta for lunch. He loves pasta and I used to cook pasta for him at least once (or twice) a week. It was my first time to cook pasta with just vegetables, no meat.

So here’s my take on Penne with Vegetables:

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, cored and roughly chopped
  • 1 medium carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • black olives
  • sweet basil
  • 100 grams penne pasta
  • homemade marinara sauce
  • mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

In a large skillet, pour in about two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions and add just a bit of salt to let it sweat. Add the garlic. Stir in the vegetables and sauté for three to five minutes.

When sauteing vegetables, do not overcook or stir too many times. Stir twice the most. Cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes until they start sweating like so.

Stir in homemade marinara sauce and white wine.

I used Italian white wine.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 6 minutes. Toss in cooked penne. Cook pasta al dente as you will bake it and will continue cooking in the oven.

Remove from heat and transfer into a baking dish. Top with parmesan and grated mozzarella cheese. I added some fresh sweet basil from my small garden (weeee! I’m using fresh herbs from my little herb garden *curtsey, curtsey*).

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. My first attempt at penne with vegetables was supposed to be grilled vegetables but this sautéed vegetables came out well and really quick. What do you think?

Herb Gardening, anyone?

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How’s everyone? I’m still here. Let’s just say I was on a long sabbatical, hee hee.

We had moved in to our new home about  a month ago yet it still feels like we’ve moved just yesterday. Yes, that’s how I feel these days. We’ve unpacked most of our stuff but there are still a few boxes left to be unpacked. It’s never-ending. Now I know how it feels to be moving. It’s stressful. Thus the reason for not being able to blog, cook or even do some crafting therapy for my tired self  :(

I was pretty busy unpacking for the most part. However, I was still able to do some small home projects. One of which was herb gardening.

Back in the old apartment in Talamban, we used to buy basil every week from the grocery. At times, the groceries sold the italian basil or the sangeg. I dreaded the smell of that basil, it was too pungent for me. I use sweet basil for my pasta dishes or for the Caprese that I make for my husband. I’ve grown tired of buying a bunch of sweet basil from the grocery and so much go to waste because you just have more than enough. And so I promised myself that I will have my small herb garden when we move to the new house.  I just had to grow my own sweet basil.

I’ve been reading about herb gardening and how you can grow your own herbs in small spaces, even on pots. So I figured the best way is to start small. And yes I started really small – with Pots :)

I bought some plastic pots from True Value.  I bought oregano and chives from the Farmer’s market at BTC one Sunday afternoon. I thought I was gonna find some sweet basil there but there wasn’t any of them selling the sweet basil kind. I almost bought an italian basil because one of those who sold insisted it was sweet basil. I know how my sweet basil smells and looks like. Fortunately, I found a small potted sweet basil in Robinson’s supermarket, haha!

Oregano

Chives

I filled the pots with some good potting soil.

I just transferred the entire plant to my pot and tore out the plastic container, making sure the whole plant/roots are intact.

Here’s my lovely sweet basil in its new pot.

Here’s the rest of the herbs in their new home.

I’m no green thumb. The only thing I’ve planted were some ‘monggo seeds’ or mung beans. If these pots survive, I might plant some more herbs like parsley and mint.

Have you got a herb pot or herb garden? What do you have? Any advice for a newbie like me?

Caprese Salad

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This is probably my all-time favorite salad (hubby too)!  Thank you Ms. Morgan for the recipe (she is my dear friend from Maryland. I miss her dearly!). I didn’t know something that quick and easy  to make can taste just absolutely wonderful. It’s gloriously simple!  The key is in the fresh ingredients: perfectly ripe tomatoes, good mozzarella (preferably buffalo) and olive oil. I add a little red wine vinaigrette.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • ripe tomatoes, sliced into rounds
  • fresh mozzarella (buffalo if possible)
  • fresh basil leaves
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • red wine vinaigrette
Preparation: 
Slice the tomatoes into rounds and put them on a platter.  Slice the mozzarella into rounds and lay them over the tomatoes. Lay one basil leaf over each slice of mozzarella cheese. Season with the olive oil, vinaigrette, salt and pepper.
Alternative:
In the US, it was easy for me to find buffalo or fresh mozzarella. So I buy the cheese in logs and slice them in rounds. However, if you’re in Cebu, you can just buy regular mozzarella from a local deli and slice them in cubes (They don’t taste as heavenly good as the buffalo though).
Slice also the tomatoes in cubes and slice the fresh basil leaves in ribbons. Add the olive oil and red wine vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.
I also add olives although traditional recipes don’t call for them, and if one wants to be strict, a Caprese that includes them really isn’t a Caprese. However, I do add them when I make this alternative Caprese salad here in Cebu. They do add a pleasant taste. I prefer the sweet black olives.
I make a “caprese” ahead by combining the ingredients in a bowl and lightly chilling them. Hubby loves to have them for breakfast over toasted baguette. He also takes them to work for his lunch. We have this almost everyday! (I kid you not!).
Aahhh, food fit for a king indeed!