Stuff I've made: Shrimp Scampi

There are so many dishes that I used to think of as just way too complicated to make at home. Recipes that probably should just be left to the pros. Shrimp scampi used to be one for me.

But, not anymore. In fact, I just made a tomato-infused shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta for the family tonight. Not only wasn't it difficult to make, it almost runs into the realm of quick weeknight dinner.

The best part about shrimp nowadays - regardless of where you are in the country (no, you don't have to see the sea for this), the packaged frozen variety are always available and ready to go.  For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp. capers
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 c. dry white wine (Pinot grigio works very well for this dish)
• 1 tsp. butter
• 1 lb. cooked angel hair pasta

 In a skillet, film the bottom of the pan with olive oil and heat it over medium high heat. Once it's warm enough, add the onions, garlic, salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes thyme and anchovy paste.  No, this won't smell fishy - the anchovy paste adds a deeper, richer flavor to the final sauce. Saute these items together for three or four minutes, until the onion has had a chance to soften and become translucent.

Dice up your tomatoes. I used to struggle doing this - mashing the tomatoes all over the cutting board, until I discovered the key to working with these babies - a sharp knife. Your knife should be sharp enough to pull directly through the fruit as you cut it. Like this...

I'll get more into knife sharpening later.  Dice these tomatoes and put them - seeds, peels and all - along with the capers into the saute pan with the other ingredients. You want to cook the tomatoes down until they soften up and release most of their juices.

Next go the shrimp. They only need two or three minutes to cook, so move quickly at this stage. While they are cooking, add the wine to loosen up the sauce and add flavor. Stir this around until the shrimp are just opaque, but before they curl up into little rubber balls.  You know you have gone too far then!

While this is going on, of course, you have cooked your pound of angel hair pasta in salted water, drained it and put it into a pasta serving bowl. Good. Once it's there, simply toss the shrimp and sauce into the bowl and gently to mix everything up.  If you want to add some green for a garnish, add some sliced scallions or parsley to the plates before serving.

This stuff goes great with some crusty bread, a salad and a glass of the same kind of wine you used in the recipe. Happy eating!