The Crusty Bits

Told ya I’d be putting more dill into this blog.

This is one of those deceptive, fancy-looking dinners that’s actually stupidly easy to make, provided you’ve got everything on hand. It takes about 30 minutes to pull together.

Since I live on my own, I’ve tried to cut down on the amount of each dish I prepare. I mean, I’ve got no problem making an entire pan of lasagna, but then I know that’s going to be lunch and dinner for the next week. I may like routine, but a lady has got to have variety.

There’s a message in that somewhere. Ahh screw it, more wine…this may not end well.

Inspiration for this came while reading this NPR story about Nordic cuisine being very hip and now. Of course where one NPR story goes another is sure to follow, ergo this story about the Nordic diet being an alternative healthy lifestyle like the Mediterranean diet.

Scandinavians sure like their dill. (Go Sweden! Heritage pride.) A little tweaking on my normal light cream sauce recipe, adding garlic and dill, and the dish came into being.

I think this dish could lend itself to pretty heavy adaptation. After all, why cook if you can’t make it how you want it? I used Half & Half because I had it in stock, but you could use heavy cream. Or leave out the cream entirely and serve it as a dill & garlic white wine sauce.

I’d stick with a “lighter” protein, like shrimp or fish–salmon or mackerel would be nice. Or if you want to go vegetarian, maybe add in some cooked white beans, like cannellini.

Shrimp in dill & garlic white wine cream sauce, makes one serving

Ingredients

single serving pasta, use nutrition facts on pasta box as reference (If using longer pasta, like spaghetti or linguini–which I recommend–for a 2 oz. portion, make a circle with your index finger and thumb. Like a tight OK hand sign. That’s a single size-ish portion with a diameter roughly the size of a quarter.)

1/4 cup frozen mini shrimp, thaw by pouring boiling water over them (Any size works; I just had baby shrimp on hand.)

1 small shallot, diced finely

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

1/2 tsp. grated garlic

2 Tbs. white wine, I used Middle Sister Wicked White (Use what you like to drink.)

3 Tbs. Half & Half

2 Tbs. fresh dill, chopped, and 1 tsp. extra to finish dish

salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Thaw shrimp and cook pasta according to package instructions. The sauce comes together quickly, so do these steps first and set aside.

2. In 10-inch saute pan, heat oil over low heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add butter and allow to melt. Add white wine and cook 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbs. dill. Cook 2 minutes. Add Half & Half and cook for another minute or two before shutting off heat.

3. Add the thawed shrimp and cooked pasta to the sauce. Turn to coat and serve immediately with a finishing splash of fresh dill on the top.