Fabulous Recipe: Hungry for Smokin’

By Mary G. Holland
February 22, 2015

I’m so hungry for barbecue!  Wish we didn’t have two feet of snow on the ground!  Here’s a fabulous recipe I developed last summer that’s to die for.  If you’ve got warm weather where you are (i.e., above 40 degrees in my book) and want to put in the time to make it special, check this out.  I’ve included substitutions for people who are gluten or lactose intolerant.  If you’ve got access to homemade pasta, all the better.

Shrimp Scampi and Pasta with Fire-Roasted

Tomato Cream Sauce

A Mary G. Holland Original Recipe

 Special Tools: A webber or other wood fired grill, chimney starter, natural charcoal and smoking wood chunks, grilling basket, grilling tools, and a blender or food processor.

Set up a webber or similar grill: Take the lid and top grate off.  Set up a chimney starter filled with a piece of newspaper coiled up as a ring in the bottom, then flip it right side up and fill half with natural wood charcoal in the bottom and the rest hickory, apple, or other smoking wood chunks.  Put the chimney in the middle of the bottom grate, and light the paper in the chimney bottom when you start your prep.

•  4 medium-large whole fresh tomatoes, washed
• 1 large onion
• 2 lb. large shrimp, cleaned and peeled
• 1 T. fresh lemon thyme or regular fresh thyme, or ½ t. dry
• ½ t. dry oregano
• Optional ½ t. red pepper flakes
• ½ c. dry white wine such as pinot grigio or chardonnay
• 1 t. salt
• ½ c. melted butter (divided in 2 portions)
• 2 T. fresh crushed or minced garlic (divided in 2 portions)
• ½ c. parsley (divided in 2 portions)
• ¼ c. flour or 2 T. gluten free starch
• 1 ½ c. milk or soy/almond milk substitute
• 1 t. salt, optionally pepper to taste
• ½ c. light cream or half and half (or soy cream cheese + soy or almond milk blended substitute)
• 1 c. grated parmesan or asiago cheese (or omit/substitute if lactose intolerant)
• ½ c. fresh basil leaves, stacked and sliced into thin strips
• 1 lb al dente cooked veggie, whole grain, (or gluten-free) pasta, drained

Prepare all your ingredients.  Meantime, when the grill fire is ready (the coals are red and the wood on top is burning but black,) dump all the coals on one side of the grill, and put the grate back on.

Load the tomatoes and whole onion in a grilling basket and put on indirect heat on the fire, and let it smoke, covered, for about 10-12 minutes (set the bottom and top openings each about 1/3 open.)  At 5-6 minutes, turn both the tomatoes and the onion, to gauge how fast they are smoking.  They are done when the skins are coming off the tomatoes and they are somewhat blackened. If necessary, put them on direct heat with the lid off to char the skin slightly.

Clean shrimp, and stir in a bowl or plastic zip loc bag with the thyme, oregano, optional red pepper, wine, 1 t. salt, and half each of the butter, garlic, parsley.  Put in the frig to marinate.

Sauce: Peel the outer paper skin off the smoked onion, and dice.  Saute the onion in a medium saucepan with the rest of the butter until medium dark golden brown.  Add the remaining garlic.  Add flour, and stir to make a roux, cooking about a minute.  Take the pan off the fire and quickly whisk in the milk to make a smooth paste.  Stir in the cream, salt, parsley, and cook, stirring, until it boils.  Add the cheese and stir to melt.

Put the fire roasted tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  You can add all the sauce in the processor to make the sauce smooth, or just stir the tomatoes into the cooked sauce.

Mix the cooked pasta with sauce and spread in a pyrex or other non reactive casserole.

Top with the shrimp, and bake about 30 min. at 375 degrees until the shrimp is done.

Garnish with the slivered basil leaves and serve.

Alternatively you can skewer the shrimp and cook on the grill, then serve the sauced pasta with grilled shrimp on top, garnished with basil.