2.176

30 (Thu) June 2011

Spaghetti Dominico with Cherry Tomatoes

3.5

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with DJ

For 2 reasons, I’ve decided to develop “signature” dishes and give them names.  The first reason is purely narcissistic, delusions of culinary grandeur borne of little more than a subjective belief not necessarily reflected in objective 3rd-party review that some of my creations are pretty good and that they are, in fact, my own creations.  The second reason is more practical, impatience with trying to come up with dish descriptions that have become increasingly overlong, clumsy, and in themselves pretentious for their implicit insistence that all the stated ingredients are essential and demand recognition.

Thus, I present Spaghetti Dominico.  It’s a follow-up to a dish that I made a couple weeks back (see 2.165 Spaghetti with Shrimp in Basil-Cream Sauce), but more refined.  The key components are shrimp, shrimp stock, and fresh basil.  As I didn’t follow a specific recipe and eyeballed the amounts of various ingredients during the process, I’ll just summarize and approximate how it went.

1. Shell and devein 8 whole shrimp.
2. In a small pot over medium heat, combine 1 cup of water with the shells, a few slices of carrots and celery and onions and leeks, a few cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, and parsley stems.
3. Simmer, occasionally skimming the foam that rises to the surface (30 min).
4. Meanwhile, in a separate large pot over high heat, bring 2 liters of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil and add 250 grams of spaghetti, cooking until just short of al dente (according to package instructions).
5. Ia separate pan over low heat, add 2 tablespoons of EVOO and sauté 1/2 cup of diced onion, 1/4 cup of diced celery, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste, pinches of dried oregano and thyme, and 2 tablespoons fresh basil julienne (5 min).
6. Increasing the heat to medium-high, add 1/4 cup dry white wine and cook until the alcohol has burned off (1 min).
7. Strain the stock and add to the sauce in the pan, along with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of fresh grated parmesan cheese (1 min).
8. Add shrimp and 4 halved/seeded cherry tomatoes (optional) and stir (30 sec).
9. Reserve 1 tablespoon of pasta water, drain the spaghetti, and add to the pan, along with the pasta water, and stir (30 sec).
10. Garnish with basil leaf and fresh parsley.

DJ loves it.  It’s named after him, after all.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)