Angel Hair pasta with Fresh English pea pesto, sweet corn & Grape Tomatoes

Guess what I felt like doing yesterday evening after a long weekend of drinking beer and eating nothing but crap? NOT COOKING! But too bad! I had a family with hungry tummies and my body was depleted of any actual nutrients (unless you count beer as a nutrient) so I needed something healthy, quick and delicious.

I got REALLY excited when I saw that whole foods had a large bin of fresh english peas in the produce section. English peas in the pod are cheap and one of the most delicious spring vegetables you could possibly ever dream of. I think the bins are always full because people are intimidated by the look of the big ugly green pod. Its simple. A) Open pod over a bowl (like a little present every time you open one!) B) REMOVE PEAS (and try not to eat all of them before they make it to the food processor). Yea, that's all folks. Simple and totally worth every second of hard labor.







Here is what you need. It will take about 20 minutes or less to to make this meal.

2 ears of fresh sweet corn (shuck & cut the raw kernels from the cob. I do it in a large bowl so the corn doesn't fly everywhere)
1 lb english pea pods (see above for pea removal instruction)
1/2 lb angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
a few lemon wedges
a few handfuls of grape tomato cut into wedges

Put a large pot of salted water on the stove top and bring to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, make your pea pesto. Very simple. In a food processor pour your raw peas into it and add salt, pepper, a few squeezes of lemon juice (about 1/2 tablespoon) and grated cheese. Pulse the peas until they are somewhat smooth. Add the oil and blend until very smooth. Taste to see if it needs more salt, pepper or lemon.



Boil angel hair pasta for about 3-4 minutes before adding your raw corn to the water to cook along with the pasta. Once you add the corn, cook until pasta is al dente (has a slight bite to it and not mushy). While the pasta is cooking, slice your tomatoes and spoon the pesto into a large bowl along with your tomatoes.



Drain your pasta (DO NOT RINSE YOUR PASTA WITH WATER! Your pasta will not soak up the flavor of the pesto if you rinse the starches from it). Dump the corn and pasta on top of the pesto and let it warm the pesto for 1 minute before tossing everything together with tongs.



Taste it after you've mixed it well to see if it needs any additional seasoning. When serving, squeeze a little more lemon juice on the dish and some more grated cheese. Such a gorgeous, EASY light dinner!

Coconut Corn & Leek Soup with Roasted Curried Shrimp

It's been rainy for the past week and I wanted to make a soup that was warming but hopeful for sunny spring days to come by using sweet corn and leeks. It was a pretty simple soup to put together with a few simple ingredients but made interesting with tastes of curry and garam masala.

This recipe feeds 4

1 lb shrimp (de-veined and unpeeled)
2 large leeks (cut and washed very important!!)
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 large garlic clove minced
3 cans of chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon of cane sugar
2 tablespoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil
1 tablespoon of kosher salt (more to taste if need be)
lime wedges

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Place your shrimp on a shallow baking pan after giving them a good rinse. Keep the shells on the shrimp as they help to give the shrimp beautiful flavor while roasting as well as prevent them from drying out. Sprinkle the shrimp with 1/2 of your curry powder and all of the garam masala. then sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Add half the ginger and then Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Toss the shrimp in the spices with your fingers until they are each coated. While you are waiting for your oven to preheat, move onto the soup.

Cut and rinse your leeks. Here's how: http://youtu.be/R8glwRaS8OM

By the time you are through cutting and cleaning your leeks, your oven will most likely be ready for the shrimp. Put the shrimp in the oven and cook on a timer for about 10 minutes and stir them around at the 5 min mark.

Now In a large soup pot, drizzle some olive oil (just a little) and add your garlic and the rest of your ginger to the oil and cook briefly. Once aromatic, add your leeks, jalapeno pepper, and the rest of your curry powder and a few generous pinches of salt. Cook to soften and then create a well in the center of the vegetables to make a roux (this will thicken the soup. Here is how to make a roux: http://youtu.be/sGxvV7uwpkw )

Did I mention that I LOVE youtube? :)

OK, so back to the soup...after you make the roux in the pan (don't worry if it gets on the vegetables! No biggie). You want to add your liquids slowly to start. Add just about 1/2 cup of your chicken stock and use a whisk to prevent your roux from clumping up. Keep adding the stock at a slow and steady pour while whisking it all together. Then you want to add your coconut milk, sugar and corn. Bump your heat up to high to get that soup bubbling away. Once it's bubbling, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Taste it to see if it needs a better balance between salty and sweet. You want it to taste a lot like a Thai curry. Delicious!

Once the shrimp are done cooking, wait for them to cool a little before peeling them. After they are all peeled, roughly chop them into large chunks.

When your soup is done and ready, ladle it into bowls and top each bowl with a heap of delicious roasted shrimp and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Eat with some fresh bread or whatever you wish!