Gluten-Free Pasta with Potatoes, Zucchini and Shrimp

Recipe Title: Gluten-Free Pasta with Potatoes, Zucchini and Shrimp
Recipe Link: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2007/08/honeymoon-approaches.html
Status: Needs Work
Rating: 7/10

Jen's Notes: Shrimp on a Monday. Oh, don't we feel decadent. Shrimp is one of those things that is so, so tasty, and not really THAT expensive (ok, it is a little expensive), and yet I never make shrimp for dinner. Well, not so last night!

So the first thing I'll tell you about this recipe is that it really is quite tasty. Even with the goat cheese (that's the chevre, in case you wondered), it's really low in fat. Basically the only fat in the whole thing is from the goat cheese. Now the next thing I'll tell you is that I wasn't very organized last night. First, I made out my grocery list for the week while I was at work. Then I left the list at work. So I decided to try to buy the ingredients for this recipe from memory. That almost worked out. Almost. I remembered everything except the zucchini.

Then I was in a rush to get the potatoes started, and I didn't read the part where it said to julienne them. I just diced them into large chunks and tossed them in the water. Then I forgot to cook the garlic before I threw in the shrimp. I actually think this worked out for the best, because the shrimp ended up still being a bit watery when I cooked it. It was frozen solid at the grocery store, and I defrosted it partially by soaking the shrimp in hot water but clearly, it was not completely thawed out.

So once the potatoes and the pasta and the shrimp were all cooked, I tossed it all into a colander to drain it all and mix it together. So now it was time for that goat cheese I mentioned earlier. You'll notice that the recipe called for dabs of goat cheese, and the picture even shows little tiny chunks of goat cheese mixed in with the pasta. I tried that for approximately two minutes. Tearing the goat cheese pretty much just managed to make a mess on my fingers, so I sliced it up a little, tossed it into my still-warm colander of stuff and mixed it all together until the goat cheese melted and coated everything. Basically, like a goat cheese sauce. I haven't used goat cheese much before (ok, ever). If you want the dab effect shown in the picture, try leaving your goat cheese in the fridge right up until you need it. Mine was fresh from the store, and just never went into the fridge so my problem might have been that the cheese had gotten too warm. No promises there, but something you may want to keep in mind. If not, the goat cheese sauce method works just fine.

But here come the reason for the ratings ding. When I first tasted the pasta, it was very bland. I had to add quite a bit of salt and pepper to get it to have any flavor. When you have a husband with a kidney disease, adding salt makes you nervous. I'm hoping that remembering the garlic next time will alleviate this problem. I'm also thinking of adding some fresh basil into the mix somewhere. Other changes: I doubled the shrimp (it came in a two pound bag anyway) and the goat cheese (hey, it came in a 4 oz package).

Potatoes paired with pasta: this seemed strange but interesting to me. The verdict? Meh. It didn't do much for the flavor in my opinion, and I didn't like the fact that I was basically getting double servings of carbs. Even gluten-free, a girl still has to watch her thighs, you know? So I think that next time, I'll cut the potatoes and double the zucchini (assuming, of course, that I can remember to buy it).

In summary, here's a list of things you can learn from my kitchen bumblings last night:

1. When making a grocery list, it helps to take it to the store.
2. Don't make this recipe the same day that you go to the grocery store. The shrimp needs time to thaw out completely.
3. Double the shrimp and goat cheese = WIN!
4. Skip the potatoes and go for more zucchini.

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus time for the shrimp to thaw
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Start to Finish: 40 minutes