A great tasting dish. Tender Shrimp, Roasted Veggies and a Creamy Orzo Pasta that melts in your mouth. This simple to make pasta recipe is layered with flavors. Shrimp Rubbed with Mama Carol's Seafood Rub that makes for a spicy flavored shrimp. The Veggies are roasted to perfection. Add toasted Pine Nuts, and Creamy Orzo and you have a meal that just can't be beat. The sodium in a restaurant orzo dish will start 850 mg's and will climb well over 3000 mg's. This flavor sensation has only 238 mg's of sodium and will tantalize your seafood cravings...
Note: see Ingredients for good sources of hard to find ingredients.
Roasting Vegetables - Pre heat oven to 425
Place veggies in a bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp no-salt seasoning, 1/2 tsp basil and red pepper flakes . Squirt olive oil spray and mix to coat veggies with oil and seasonings. (Note: leave peel on garlic for roasting)
In a large baking pan, line with aluminum foil and squirt with olive oil spray. Place seasoned veggies in pan, except for the tomatoes. Roast for 20 minutes then turn veggies over and add tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes more.
Let cool, remove garlic and peel. Slice into small pieces & return to veggies.
Set aside till needed.
Toasting Pine Nuts
In a medium skillet, place pine nuts and heat to medium. Using a spatula, move nuts around
while toasting. Approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
Nuts are done when they have a light brown oily appearance and have a nutty fragrance.
Set aside till needed to complete recipe.
Mama Carol's Seafood Rub Mix together and rub into Seafood.
1/4 tsp ground cloves, ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice, cayenne pepper, celery seeds, chili powder, cinnamon,
marjoram, parsley, paprika, thyme
3/4 tsp garlic powder, onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground bay leaves, black pepper, dry mustard
Place all ingredients in a spice grinder and pulse for 1 minute
making sure all spices are well blended
Enjoy,
From Our Unsalted Heart To Yours...
Orzo (rice shaped pasta)
Shrimp
Crimini Mushrooms - thick slices
Zucchini - thick slices
Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
Red Onion - sliced
Garlic
Red Bell Pepper - bite size pieces
Green Onions - sliced
Pine Nuts - toasted
Vegetable Stock - low sodium
Almond Milk
Red Pepper Flakes (1/8 tsp optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Non-stick Olive Oil Spray
Un-salted Butter
No-salt seasoning - (Kirkland)
Ground Black Pepper
Dried Basil
Mama Carol's Seafood Rub (recipe below)
Fresh Basil - loosely packed
Orzo
In a large deep skillet, place butter, olive oil & orzo. Heat skillet to medium and coat orzo by stirring till golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 cups of the reserved shirmp vegetable stock that had been simmered. Cook orzo till liquid is almost absorbed.
Add 2 cups of almond milk, 1/2 tsp Mama Carol's Seafood Rub, 1/2 tsp no-salt seasoning, 1/2 tsp basil & 1/4 tsp ground black pepper. Stir continually till orzo is al dente. Orzo will take about 7 to 8 minutes to absorb almond milk, finish cooking and become creamy.
(al dente - tender yet firm. NOT MUSHY)
Putting All Together
When orzo is done add vegetables, shrimp & pine nuts. Mix all ingredients together, Heat through for 1 minute, turn off heat then add green onions and place in serving dish.
Top with a chiffonade of fresh basil. (Chiffonade - slicing basil into ribbons)
Cooking Shrimp
Rinse shrimp under cold water. Peel shells from shrimp and save. Devein shrimp and place in a bowl. Add Mama Carol's Seafood Rub (recipe below) & optional 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes. Squirt with non stick olive oil spray and mix together. Cover shrimp bowl and let seasonings blend in for 30 minutes.
Whole Shrimp Cut down the middle Remove Vein Seasoned Shrimp
Heat skillet on medium. Squirt with non stick olive oil spray and lay shrimp in pan in one layer. In one corner of the pan place the shrimp shells. Cook shrimp for 1 1/2 minutes turn over and cook for 1 minute more. (Do not over cook the shrimp)
Set shrimp aside till needed to complete recipe.
After removing the shrimp, saute the shells in the pan for 2 minutes. Lower heat then pour in the low sodium vegetable stock. Simmer stock on low with shells for 30 minutes with skillet covered, allowing the shells to flavor the stock.
Strain and reserve shrimp vegatable stock till needed.