Fresh Cilantro & Serrano Homemade Pasta with Grilled Chili-Lime Shrimp & Avocado

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

People must be tired of hearing me declare than the dishes I make are inspired by or limited to ingredients I already have on hand – but it is very often true – and will be more true in the future. I spent $8200 last year on groceries (which includes beer & wine for ME & for dinner parties etc). I live alone! $700 a month on groceries is obscene – even for a food porn blogger.

I bought a bag of 5 avocados at Costco. They were cheap (for avocados) but the problem is, you get 5 avocados all ripe at the same time. So – you guessed it. It’s going to be avocado city here for a bit.

I also had some cilantro & lots of serranos – hence this unconventional pasta. I have been enjoying the challenge of creating new pasta varieties. Homemade pasta is one of the most satisfying efforts you can ever engage in. It is a completely different animal than dried pasta. So light & never leaves you feeling stuffed – no matter how much you eat and the flavor is so gorgeous & subtle. You really should try it!

The shrimp in this particular dish were of the frozen ilk – the kind that REALLY shrink when they cook. They were still frozen when I put them in the marinade so I never cleaned them and they still had tails. 😦

I recommend using larger, fresher shrimp than the freezer burned ones I used here. The marinade is not a science so don’t feel too anal about the ingredients. Lose some, add others. Marinades are very forgiving.

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Fresh Cilantro & Serrano Homemade Pasta

PASTA INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

1 large bunch cilantro – lower stems removed

3 serrano peppers – seeded & chopped

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

PASTA DIRECTIONS

Put the cilantro & serranos into a food processor & blend with the salt and eggs until the green ingredients are pureed. Add the flour & process into a moist dough. Knead the dough with a little extra flour until it loses all tackiness. Then roll it out like instructed in the recipe here – PASTA DOUGH. Add more flour if the dough rolls out wet. Once you roll & cut the noodles – let them dry on a counter for at least an hour. They will cook in boiling water in less than two minutes. You can tell they are done because they begin to float up to the surface. Do not salt the water as homemade noodles tend to absorb the salt quickly & that can over power their delicate flavor.

Drain the noodles – toss with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Grilled Chili-Lime Shrimp & Avocado

INGREDIENTS

20 Shrimp – peeled & cleaned

3 serrano peppers – seeded & diced

2 scallions – chopped

3 garlic cloves – minced

1/4 olive oil

2 TBS sambal oelek (chili paste) – or more if you like heat

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS honey

2 stalks lemongrass – bruised & chopped (VERY optional)

1 TBS crushed red pepper (optional)

1 avocado

GARNISHES

Cilantro or parsley and extra lime wedges and maybe some chopped red jalapeno or tomato

DIRECTIONS

Blend all the ingredients EXCEPT the avocado & shrimp in a bowl. Add shrimp & mix to coat well. Marinate the shrimp in the fridge for at least an hour – but the longer the better.

Grill the shrimp or pan fry them. Err on the side of under-cooking a bit because they will continue to cook after you remove them from heat.

Peel & chop the avocado. Squeeze some lime or lemon juice onto it so it doesn’t brown.

To assemble – put pasta then shrimp & avocado on each plate & then garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley & lime wedges and chopped red jalapeno or tomato – if using.

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