Tomato-Shrimp Delight: a Fresh Pasta Bowl Idea

I should start by saying that I had completely forgotten about the bag of frozen shrimps in the freezer, although they had been purchased rather recently; quarantine truly makes you clean and discover your food storage at a deeper level! Anywho, I was very happy to find them and looking forward to pairing them with fresh ingredients for a summery bowl of carbs!

The entire purpose during this quarantine period, again, is to save up as many fresh ingredients as possible and spread them in as many meals as possible. I had a bag of shrimps in the freezer, a few cherry tomatoes (a huge bin to go through quite honestly, which I used partly for snacks and for salads/pasta dishes such as this one), tons of onions, and a stash of pasta boxes in my carbs cupboard (it's a thing). So a pasta bowl was born.

Quarantine option: replace the fresh tomatoes with a small can of crushed tomatoes. I always pack up on these with whichever brand is on sale when I go grocery shopping. I have at least 4 cans of crushed tomatoes and 2-3 cans of whole tomatoes at all time. It helps that René designed a huge kitchen with tons of storage space.

In general and in my case from now on, I highly recommend adding a bag of frozen shrimps to your grocery orders, you simply have to thaw them out with cold water for a few minutes and they taste very fresh and juicy!

You will need,

Capelli d'angelo (Angel hair. It's Angel hair pasta- I used 1/2 pack)

Cherry tomatoes (I used 25, sliced in thirds, and I got 3 full bowls out of the sauce- I used the third portion the following day and made lunch bowls which were half pasta and half spinach salads!)

Jumbo shrimps (approx. 15, thawed)

Yellow onions (2, chopped)

Garlic (5 cloves, minced)

Olive oil (so much)

Sea salt (for taste)

Black pepper (for taste)

Dried basil (a pinch)

Optional: a dash of chili flakes

A few steps,

1. In a large skillet/pot over medium heat, toss olive oil, sliced tomatoes, chopped onions and minced garlic until the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes, and I slowly lower the heat as the garlic browns). Note: I like to throw in the tomatoes straight away so they completely absorb the flavours. Add salt, dried basil and pepper to taste.

2. With a wooden spatula, move vegetables on one side of the skillet and add the shrimps (thawed under water for a few minutes so they should feel fresh and not frozen at all). Turn over at least once and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.

Ideally: I would've sautéed them separately in garlic butter with a few drops of lemon juice and then transferred them onto the bowls and mixed! However, Ella was teething and needing hugs so I threw everything in the same pan to save time- adorable baby always comes first!

3. In a separate pot, while the shrimps are cooking, bring salt water to boil and cook pasta for the recommended time (angel hair is al dente within 3-4 minutes). Drain and throw into the tomato sauce skillet/pot. Mix together and add olive oil, salt and pepper if needed.

4. Serve in bowls with a nice red! I strongly suggest counting the shrimps you serve in each bowl, you don't want to start fighting during quarantine.

Also, if this were summertime and herbs were growing in the backyard, I definitely would've added *tons* of fresh parsley and basil! However, during this quarantine, my focus shifted to purchasing extra formula tubs and diaper boxes over fresh herbs and fancy fresh pasta noodles- which are both missed dearly.