Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta

My Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta dish goes along great with cut #6 on the KitCHEN MuSIC album, "My One and Only Love," one of the most popular tunes for instrumentalists in the Great American Songbook. On the album I'm accompanied by guitar, bass and drums. The recipe and directions, including "how to cook angel hair pasta," are below.



VIDEO CREDITS
Producer/Host/Editor: Roberto Mighty
Lighting/Camera: Brian Galford
Sous Chef: Naomi Kooker
Audio/Camera 2: Chuck Rosina

Citrus Ginger Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta

PREP TIME: 10 minutes. Cook time: 7 minutes. Tools: Tongs, large sauté pan

INGREDIENTS
• Olive Oil for sauteeing, about 3 tablespoons
• 1/2 medium red bermuda onion, sliced into rings or chopped
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb. Fresh Spinach, washed (I like stems on, most like stems removed. It's up to you)
• 6 - 8 Raw Shrimp, shelled and deveined
• OR 6-8 Cooked Shrimp (if you're in a hurry)
• 1/3 cup White wine for deglaze
• 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger root (You can grate it with a cheese grater)
• Angel Hair Pasta (see sidebar instructions for cooking pasta)
• Orange juice with fresh lime and lemon juice squeezed and mixed in, to taste

Serves 1 (To serve 2, double everything in the recipe)

DIRECTIONS
1. Have all ingredients (including the cooked pasta -- see sidebar "how to cook angel hair pasta") prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

2. Start by heating your large sautée pan over medium heat.

3. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. When the oil is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat down to medium loe and add the red onion.

5. Saute Onion until it is mostly translucent

6. Add garlic to an area of the pan that is wet with juices from the onion. Move the garlic around so it doesn't burn

7. Add the spinach and 2-3 pinches of kosher salt, then turn the heat up to medium high. Using the tongs, move everything around as it cooks

8. Add half of the white wine (be sure to turn the pan away from your face when adding alcohol to the pan!). Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, continuing to move everything around.

9. Turn heat up to high. Push the other items in the pan to one side.

10. Add the shrimp to the empty area of the pan, using the tongs to turn the shrimps over so that each side gets heat

11. Add the rest of the white wine to simmer everything as the shrimp cooks through

12. Keep everything moving. the shrimp is DONE when it's pink/red. It should take less than 2 minutes to cook all the way through.

13. Add the citrus juice and the grated ginger, continuing to simmer

14. After simmering (the sauce should be boiling) for no more than a minute, turn off the flame.

15. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste

16. PLATING: Put a bed of angel hair pasta on the plate. Put the spinach, onions and garlic on top. Arrange the shrimp on top of the spinach. Pour the sauce from the pan over the shrimp.

HOW to COOK ANGEL HAIR PASTA

Angel Hair (or Capellini, for "fine hair") is the most delicate of all pastas. It's perfectly paired with shrimp, a light sauce and vegetables, Napoli style -- like my citrus/ginger/white wine/olive oil/garlic mixture.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the angel hair pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 4 minutes.

• An easy way to help prevent pasta from sticking together (besides stirring often -- the best way,) is to put one or two tablespoons of olive oil in the water.

• Note: Adding olive oil to the water is controversial, however. If your grandmother is Italian, do not let her see you adding olive oil to the water. TRUST ME on this one.

• Drain and serve IMMEDIATELY with your meal.

ENJOY! - Roberto
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