Shrimps of the Shrimp World

MENU

Bay Shrimp and Fennel

Pasta Sauce

Linguine or spinach fettuccine

Crisp toast with goat cheese

Pears bathed in chocolate sauce

It’s easy to understand why many people buy tiny bay shrimp rather than the larger varieties. They’re cheaper, there’s no waste or need for shelling or deveining, and they’re ready to eat, since they’re sold precooked. (But remember, because they’re precooked, be careful not to overheat them.)

Generally speaking I prefer the flavor of bigger shrimp, but for speed and convenience I chose to use bay shrimp in this yellow pepper pasta sauce. To improve their flavor, I added fennel. You’ll recognize this vegetable in the produce section by its fleshy white bulb and thin celerylike stalks with lacy fronds. Pick those with firm bulbs and before chopping or cutting in julienne strips, remove any tough, dry or discolored portions around the bulb.

When it’s raw, fennel has a wonderful licorice-like fragrance--you can eat it as is, with a simple sprinkling of olive oil and lemon. It loses much of that aroma in cooking, though it becomes sweeter, so in this recipe, I reserved a third of the chopped fennel to add at a later stage for crispness. To enhance the licorice taste further, you may even add a splash of Pernod or anisette towards the end.

To accompany the dish, toast some diagonal slices of baguette with soft mild goat cheese, adding some chopped or sliced tomatoes dipped in basil olive oil if desired. Finish off with fresh winter pears, bathed in your favorite chocolate, melted.

Staples

3 to 4 cloves garlic

Salt, pepper

Shopping

1 stick butter

1 medium fennel bulb

1 sweet yellow pepper

1/2 pint milk

1 (14-ounce) can straw mushrooms

1 1/4 pounds bay shrimp

12 ounces linguine or spinach fettuccine

1 lemon

Optional Shopping

French baguette

Soft mild goat cheese

Pears

BAY SHRIMP AND FENNEL PASTA SAUCE

3 cloves garlic

1 medium fennel bulb

1 sweet yellow pepper

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup milk or water

1 (14-ounce) can straw mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, drained

1 1/4 pounds bay shrimp

Salt, pepper

12 ounces linguine or spinach fettuccine, cooked and drained

1 lemon, cut in wedges

Crush garlic. Wash fennel, trim stalks and base and chop or finely slice. Chop and reserve some leaves for garnish. Cut yellow pepper into chunks.

Heat lightly greased wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add yellow pepper and cook to brown some parts of skin. Reduce heat to medium. Add 3 tablespoons butter to pepper and heat to melt. Add and saute garlic. Stir in half of milk. Place in blender or food processor and puree pepper until smooth.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and saute mushrooms and 2/3 of fennel. Add pepper puree and remaining milk. Reduce on high heat until slightly thickened. Stir in shrimp and remaining fennel. Season to taste with salt and generously with pepper.

Toss with hot cooked linguine. Garnish top with chopped fennel leaves. Serve with lemon wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

647 calories; 769 mg sodium; 254 mg cholesterol; 19 grams fat; 77 grams carbohydrates; 43 grams protein; .8 gram fiber; 26% calories from fat.