This is one of my favorite light dishes -- anytime I can cook with garlic, parsley and lemon, I am a happy camper. This dish is easy to make as a vegetarian dish or substitute other vegetables for the sprouts. It's very simple to make as it is mostly chopping.
Ingredients:
20 -25 fresh Brussels Sprouts, cleaned and sliced lengthwise in half
1/2 pound of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bunch of Italian parsley, approx. 1 cup cleaned and coursely chopped (curly parsley is fine)
10 cloves fresh garlic, minced (maybe 3T)
4T fresh lemon zest (1.5-2 lemons)
1/3 cup white wine or lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
heavy pinch (~ 1/8 c) sea salt for pasta water
angel hair pasta (I particularly like angel hair made from whole wheat or Jerusalem artichoke flour)
RECIPE
Thaw, peel and gently press water out of the shrimp and place them in a bowl. Add about 1.5 T minced garlic and 1 T lemon zest, a healthy grind of black pepper and cover lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly to evenly cover the shrimp and refrigerate to marinate.
Heat a large, heavy sautee pan to medium-high. Once hot, add a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil. Add the brussels sprouts to the hot oil cut-side down, leaving about an inch between pieces to avoid over crowding. Allow them to cook without moving them until the edges look slightly browned and crisp. Remove the braised sprouts from the heat and set aside on a large heat-proof dish. You will probably need to do this in a couple of batches. Don't worry about the browned bits on the pan -- you will deglaze after cooking the shrimp. Once you have braised all of the sprouts and removed them from the pan, turn the heat off. Sprinkle a tablespoon of lemon zest and quarter cup of chopped parsley over the top and mix gently. You will finish cooking them as you finish the shrimp.
Now, you will make the gremolata, which is a traditional Italian topping. It is minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest. Finely chop the remainder of the parsley and place in a mixing bowl. Add the remainder of your garlic and lemon zest. Mix together until well-combined. Some people will add a little extra virgin olive oil to this topping; I generally don't.
Bring a large stock pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling hard add a nice handful of sea salt to the water (note, do not add the salt in when the water is cold or you will just get salty pasta). Use sea salt if you have it and don't be afraid -- the salt raises the boiling temperature of the water to ensure cooking the pasta without making it become gummy. It doesn't make it salty.
Once the water comes back to a rolling boil after adding the salt, you are ready to cook your pasta according to package directions. I generally let it boil until I am cooking the shrimp and then add the pasta to cook in the boiling water. If you don't like to multi task, cook and then strain the water from the pasta and sprinkle with olive oil to keep it from sticking together while you wait for the rest to finish.
Now that your pasta water is boiling, return to your sautee pan. Add about 1T olive oil and turn the heat to medium high. Once hot, add the shrimp and all of the marinade, spacing the shrimp evenly in the pan and leaving them alone until they begin to brown on one side. While you are waiting, add the pasta to the boiling water. Flip them over using tongs. Add your wine or lemon juice -- use enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Using a wooden spoon or your tongs, quickly scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan into the simmering liquid. Add a bit of water if necessary to keep a little liquid in the pan. Once scraped, add the sprouts back to the pan, turn the heat to medium low and cover, steaming everything for about 2 minutes.
Drain the pasta and coat lightly with olive oil. Serve over angel hair pasta and top with gremolata. You may also add a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese if you like.
Enjoy!
