Too tired to cook pasta

[CWS4322]

I was too tired to cook and had to use up some of the ripe Romas:
450 gr. rotini, cooked al dente
2 generous T tomato sauce (mine was roasted Romas, no garlic--you can use more)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I didn't have roasted garlic, but that would be good)
8-10 60 ct. shrimp--plus a few for garnish
15 roma tomatoes
2 T fresh basil
1-1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 T fresh marjoram
1 T fresh oregano
fresh rosemary leaves
jice of 1 wedge lemon
EVVO
1 tsp lime-infused EVOO
Truffle salt (about 1/4 tsp-optional)
4 T freshly-grated asiago cheese
1 T capers
1 tsp caper "juice"
2 T chopped black olives
1/2 jalepeno pepper, grated
1 tsp grated onion
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 small baby eggplant, sauteed or grilled

Cook the pasta. I put a strainer over the pot and steamed the shrimp. Saute the eggplant, cut in strips (if no seeds, no need to "soak" in salt--if there are seeds, remove them--they are bitter) in some EVOO and 4 of the diced Roma tomatoes. Drain the pasta, cut the shrimp into smaller pieces, toss the pasta, shrimp, cheese, etc. in a bowl with the olive oil. Season to taste. To serve: dress with shrimp, additional herbs, a drizzle of the lime-infused lime oil, and a dash of truffle salt (optional). You can also dress it with a sliced hard boiled egg. It is lovely served warm on a bed of swiss chard or garden lettuce, or not. The next day, leftovers make a lovely salad--you may wish to add more EVOO to eat it as a salad. The capers and the intense tomato flavor of the tomato sauce/paste really made this something I want to throw together again.

 

[CWS4322]

Here's a blurry pic from last night--I added the eggplant and the black olives today.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Hmm, it sounds really good, although I've never had capers. Do you think it would be good with greek olives or green olives, or maybe an olive mix?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Looks fantastic, copied and pasted.

Jess, buy some capers, they are quite salty, so rinse them. But they add such a nice flavor...I'd go for the olive mix.

 

[pacanis]

The first time I used capers I scooped out a spoonful, juice and all went into the dish. Quite overpowering. Now I always add more capers than a dish calls for because I love them, but I use a fork to scoop them out of the jar now. If you like Grrek olives, you should like capers. IMO they aren't as strong as Kalamata olives.

Oh, ETA, I didn't even know this thread was a recipe. I thought you were saying you were too tired to cook, CW, lol.

 

[CWS4322]

Because of the intense tomato flavor of the tomato sauce, I found that the capers and the caper juice added the top note to this. I did add black olives today when I had some as a salad...what is nice about it, is you can it it warm or cold.

It really isn't a recipe--I don't have a clue what to call this "throw together". I was SO tired and SO hungry, I needed something that wouldn't take too long. I also had a bunch of stuff I had to do something with and no energy to do much-- some leftover roasted tomato sauce (what hadn't made it into the freezer), a whole lot of Roma tomatoes that had turned red in the house, 2 baby eggplant that I'd picked before the killing frost, two lemon wedges leftover from when we had fish on Friday, and really didn't think I should eat FRESH eggs yet again (FRESH eggs are really easy when you're tired). And, I had some shrimp in the freezer--easy to break apart, thaw, and not use the whole package. I was very happy with the end result <g>. And, I don't think there will be any leftovers for the DH tomorrow since I've had two servings today...and am not promising I won't have more later. And, it took as long as it took to make the pasta to get everything ready to toss in the bowl, coat the pasta, and then dish out. Because the pasta was hot, it turned out to be a warm dish. I supposed one could heat it in pot...

 

[CWS4322]

Because last night was the start of curling, s/one offered to come out to the farm and make dinner--scalloped potatoes with ham. I was planning on finishing the pasta for lunch today. Well, I went to get it, and it was GONE. "There was pasta in here I thought we could have as a salad--did you move it?" "Oh, I ate that." (I'll have to leave post-it notes on things from now on if I have other plans and he's coming out during the week to make my "post-curling" meal). I asked what he thought of it--he thought it lacked tomato sauce. I asked how he ate it--he heated it up in the microwave and ate it as if it were a casserole. It wasn't. But, he thought the combination of flavors was delicious, just wasn't "saucy" enough. It wasn't supposed to be! To make it into a casserole, one would have to add a lot more tomato sauce, IMO.And, YEA! we won the first game of what will be a very long season of curling--members did not return, so only ONE team has four members. This translates to a LOT of sweeping for those of us on teams of only three members. Not only that, my inclination to sweep the kitchen floor diminishes after each week of "LOTS" of sweeping at curling.

 

[buckytom]

that's what you cook when you're tired? all of those ingredients?

geez, i'd hate to be near your kitchen when you're well rested and motivated, cws! i might get run over.

looks and sounds really good, though.

 

[CWS4322]

that's what you cook when you're tired? all of those ingredients?

geez, i'd hate to be near your kitchen when you're well rested and motivated, cws! i might get run over.

looks and sounds really good, though.

While the pasta cooked, I was pulling things out of the fridge, veggie basket, cupboard, and freezer, and then clipped herbs off the fresh herbs I brought in. It didn't really seem like a lot of stuff until I decided to preserve the recipe so I could make it again. It was a "throw together" with stuff on hand, the shrimp because I could thaw it quickly. I don't make pasta very often--it is one of those things I eat when I'm too tired to think of anything else. I didn't want to wait for something to bake in the oven, so a caserole was out. I don't have prepared food options in the house, and didn't have the energy to go on an "archeological dig" of the freezer to find leftovers or drive in to the local village for take-out.