Flavorful Olive Oil Pasta: A Quick & Delicious Dish
Flavorful Olive Oil Pasta: A Quick & Delicious Dish
From Gambas al Ajillo to Delicious Olive Oil Pasta
While it’s over now, I was an avid viewer of ‘Coffee Friends.’ Watching it made me want to try Gambas al Ajillo, and today was that day! I decided to make a small portion since I was eating alone, but adding pasta made it quite a generous amount. My appetite seems to be returning lately, and I’m struggling to control it… Oh, after all the effort I put into losing weight… *sigh*.
Ingredients- Large Cocktail Shrimp
- Generous amount of Olive Oil
- Thinly sliced Garlic (Garlic slices)
- Salt
- King Oyster Mushrooms
- Chili Flakes (Peperoncino)
- Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
- Spinach (or P’ohang greens)
- Pasta (Spaghetti, Linguine, etc.)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Since Gambas al Ajillo is a dish that uses a lot of oil, I used a generous amount of olive oil. I also added plenty of thinly sliced garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt to season the oil. Gently fry the garlic until it becomes fragrant and golden brown.
Step 2
I only had shrimp prepared, and not much else in my kitchen! I usually add button mushrooms, but I didn’t have any. Thankfully, I found one king oyster mushroom leftover from making soybean paste stew. What a relief!
Step 3
Once the garlic is sufficiently fried, add the sliced mushrooms to the pan. The garlic might be a little overcooked, but that’s okay! (Tip: Even if the garlic gets a bit darker, it adds a deeper flavor.)
Step 4
If I had used prawns that turn red when cooked, the dish would have a beautiful vibrant color, but I used large cocktail shrimp. If I hadn’t seasoned the oil earlier, I would have seasoned the shrimp separately. Since the oil is already flavorful, I simply added the defrosted shrimp.
Step 5
I crushed and added 2 peperoncino for a bit of heat and freshly ground black pepper to create a classic ‘Gambas al Ajillo.’
Step 6
Another thing missing from my kitchen: fresh parsley! I only had dried, which I felt wouldn’t add much visual appeal. So, I finely chopped 3 leaves of P’ohang greens (or spinach) and added them. I do love a dish that looks as good as it tastes!
Step 7
This is what my homemade ‘Gambas al Ajillo’ looks like! Although I had to substitute some ingredients, it turned out wonderfully.
Step 8
I boiled the pasta for 9 minutes, then added it to the Gambas pan to create an olive oil pasta. If I had bread, I might not have boiled pasta, but since I didn’t, this was the perfect solution.
Step 9
Voila! I enjoyed the Gambas al Ajillo and then made this delicious olive oil pasta. No wonder I’m so full! This is a recipe worth trying.
