I was raised in the United States majority of my life, but I have a strong affinity towards Bollywood movies — you know, the ones with singing and dancing. I’m not quite sure why I’m drawn to Bollywood movies; perhaps it’s the romantic love stories that never seem to get old in my book, or perhaps the emotions, the drama, and the music, or perhaps just the simplicity of watching a movie for pure leisure. Tonight, really on an impulse, I took the liberty of popping in an Indian DVD to watch. It’s been a while since I sat down to just watch an Indian flick. At first, it was just something to play in the background and enjoy, but of course, 5 minutes into the movie I was completely engaged. My eyes were glued to the screen for the whole 3-hour movie, Kal Ho Na Ho (means ‘tomorrow may never come’) – and it was D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C! Totally my kind of movie! 😊 Tips on making Veggie Scampi Dinner tonight was Veggie Scampi. My inspiration for this dish comes from my favorite chef, Ina Garten, who never seems to fail me with her wonderful recipes. I used Ina’s recipe as a base and made some tweaks along the way by using less butter, less oil, veggies instead of shrimp with some added Parmesan cheese and white wine to replace the lack of butter. This dish was light, moist, and succulent. Serve with a glass of Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. Enjoy!
veggie scampi is:
Healthy-ishFlavorful DecadentGreat Vegetarian OptionCustomizable (use different veggies/add meat)Twist on a ClassicRich and Buttery
How to make Veggie Scampi recipe step by step?
Prep
Start by boiling a big pot of water on high – about 1/2 or 2/3’s full. Open a bottle of wine and set aside. (Doesn’t have to be anything fancy.) In the meantime, cut the broccoli into florets. Place in a colander and set aside. We will steam this while we boil the pasta. Chop the garlic and slice the mushrooms. For the mushrooms, I only used one box, but I recommend using 2-8 ounce boxes. Zest the lemon and slice a few pieces of the lemon. In addition, juice 2 lemons and set aside. Chop parsley and set aside. Check on your pasta water, and it should be boiling. Then add 1 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season generously with salt. Add the linguine. I’m using Barilla Whole Grain Linguine. Then stir and lower the heat to medium. In addition, add the colander with the broccoli over the pasta and cover with a lid. This should take about 8 minutes or until Al Dente.
Cook
Next, heat a wok type pan on medium heat. Once hot, then add 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 15 seconds or so. Don’t go beyond that since garlic burns easily. Add mushrooms, season with salt, and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Saute for 3 minutes or so. Add white wine. Stir. Allow this to cook without a lid for 5 minutes. Check on the broccoli and pasta. Should be done. Turn off the heat. Drain the pasta and set aside. This is how your mushroom-wine mixture should look. It’s quite yummy at this point. 🙂 TURN OFF THE HEAT! Add the lemon slices, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the parsley. Combine. At this point, add more salt if need be. Add linguine. Toss. Add the broccoli and season with salt. Toss again! Grate Parmesan cheese and add. Toss again! Check for salt. And now, pour yourself a glass of white wine and devour!
More Mushroom Pasta Recipes
Truffle Butter Mushroom Pappardelle Sun-Dried Tomato Spinach Mushroom Pasta Mushroom and Spinach Pappardelle Mushroom Spaghetti inspired by Catch Truffle Mac and Cheese
