Recipe: Linguine with Shrimp and Tomatoes

Before I get into this recipe, I'd just like to tell you all that there are two versions of this recipe - a good girl/boy one and a bad girl/boy. Today I was not good.

I have to go to the grocery store this weekend, and the only thing I had in the freezer was shrimp. I usually use my shrimp to make fried rice or something, but you get tired of that after a while, especially living in Beijing. So I looked up some shrimp recipes and found two -- both of which could mostly be made with stuff I already had or I could buy from the convenience store downstairs.

Anyway, here is the recipe that I went with, a slightly adapted version of this one:

• Sauce Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups diced tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
salt and black pepper to taste

• Other Ingredients

1 (16 oz) package linguine pasta (I thought this was too much pasta for the sauce it made so consider using just 3/4 of the package)
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and wine. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the tomatoes have simmered into a sauce, stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.
2. Fill a large pot with lightly-salted water; bring to a rolling boil; stir in the linguine and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
3. Season the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the shrimp and cook until pink on the outside and no longer translucent in the center, about 5 minutes. Stir the shrimp into the pasta sauce, then stir the sauce into the linguine to serve.

I was so proud of myself for making this, and I will definitely make it again, maybe with chicken next time. The sauce and the shrimp were both really flavorful, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite.

Even though this recipe was a total cheat, with the original recipe's one serving coming in at 520 calories per serving, I cut out one tablespoon of butter (which I am sure reduced the number of calories) and I ate a smaller serving size accompanied by a bigger salad.

I also added chives on top for more color.

Note: As you can tell from the photo, I did not use linguine, but spaghetti, because it was all that was available at the convenience store. I think it would go much better with linguine though.

Eat beautiful everyone!