Lemon Grass Shrimp tossed

in a Court Bouillon Sauce

Served over fresh

Fettuccine Pasta

So I’m in my hotel room in NY running various recipes through my mind. The hotel is nice and very cozy as small hotel rooms in NY go but, the best thing about the Gem is the 4^th floor roof access! It’s a great place to drink and unwind. BYOB, you’ll understand if you go there.

On the following morning I will be cooking a very important meal so it's time to challenge myself. I personally love the flavor of this Court Bouillon and the flavor of the Pan fried Shrimp with the delicateness of the homemade Pasta. I hope you do too!

For the Pasta

2 ½ Cups Flour

3 Eggs

2 Tbls Olive Oil

1 Generous pinch of salt

For the Court Bouillon (Simple)

2 Tbls Olive Oil

2 Cloves of Garlic, rough cut

3 Tbls Sweet Onion, rough cut

Shrimp heads and shells from about 1 pound of Shrimp.

1 Cup Hot water, keep more on hand as needed

½ Cup Pinot Grigio

1 Tbls Unsalted Butter

Salt / Pepper

For the Shrimp

2 Tbls Olive Oil

1 Cloves of Garlic minced

2 Tbls Sweet Onion diced

1 Stalk Lemon Grass

½ Cup Court Bouillon Sauce

1 stalk of Green Onions, Sliced

We’ll start with the Pasta as it can rest while were cooking the two other components of this dish.

Pour the 2 ½ cups of flour onto a clean working surface. With your fingers create a well in the center. Make the well big enough to hold the other ingredients! It’s really no fun chasing an egg yolk across the table. Now add the 3 Eggs, 2 Tbls Olive Oil and a generous pinch of salt. About a half Tsp if you’re measuring.

Cooking note:

You can make this without salt at all!

Using either your fingers or a fork, slowly beat the eggs while gently incorporating the flour. Once most the flour is incorporated into the dough you can begin to kneed it with the palm of your hand. Work the dough for about 5 minutes. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes.  

It’s time to clean the Shrimp. A nice 50 to 60 count makes a nice size Shrimp for this plate. Remove the heads and  shells and keep them in a second bowl as we will need them for the sauce later. Devein the Shrimp, cover and refrigerate.

Start a nice big 6-8 Qt. pot of boiling water. Don’t forget to add the salt.

Gianna, it’s time-a to make-a de Pasta!

My wife is Italian and I loved it when we named our daughter Gianna. Pronounced Gee-Ahh Na.

So in my best fake Italian accent I now get to say

“Gianna, It’s time-a to make-a da pasta”! My wife laughs...

I use a hand pasta machine at home. So here we go. Unwrap and cut your pasta dough in half. Re-wrap one half and set aside. Working on a floured surface press your dough flat with your hand and feed it through the largest setting on your machine. Mine at home is one. I found out real quick that at the Food Network 1, is the smallest setting! So continue to feed the pasta through until your desired thickness. Continue to flour your pasta with each pass. For Fettuccine I like 7. If you are using the Kitchen Aid attachment it is 3. 

Cooking note:

Keep in mind that the pasta will swell a little while it is cooking.

After you have a nice flat pasta sheet, run it through the Fettuccine side of your pasta attachment. Continue to flour your pasta!

Once your pasta is cut, you will want it to dry a little. At home I rest mine in the shape of a nest. Under the gun at Food Network Headquarters I lay it flat on the counter!

At home you can use a Pasta tree or a cabinet door.

On to the Court Bouillon Sauce!

In a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat add 2 Tbls of Olive Oil. Add the Garlic, Onions, Salt and Pepper. Wait about 2 minutes and then add the Shrimp heads and shells. Give the shrimp mix a toss in the pan as the Shrimp cook. You want the shells to turn an orange-ish red. The aroma should be wonderful by now. Add the White Wine and allow the wine to reduce by about 70%. Add 1 Tbls of butter and toss. Add 1 Cup of hot water. Stir and continue to simmer.

At this point I season my Shrimp with Sea Salt and Tellicherry Pepper.

Taste the Court Bouillon sauce and reduce the heat to medium. The sauce will remain thin but should taste wonderful! Strain the sauce at this time.

Time to cook the Pasta

Heat a second sauce pan over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbls of Olive Oil, Garlic, Onions and the Zest from the root end (white end) of the Lemon Grass. You’ll want about 1 Tbls of zest. Drop your seasoned Shrimp into the pan and toss to coat. Cook for about 1 minute and add half a ladle, about ½ cup of the Court Bouillon sauce to the Shrimp. Your pan will seem hot and this is good.

Drop the desired amount of pasta into your pot of boiling water. Again this is fresh pasta 2-3 minutes will do just fine.

Cooking Note:

We’re using fresh pasta here, your boiling water does not need to look like it’s trying to jump out of the pot! Boiling is a temperature, not water aggression. A nice gentle boil will do just fine.

As the Court Bouillon cooks off and reduces, the flavors in the sauce are becoming richer and clinging to the Shrimp!! If you time it right you’ll have no liquid left in the pan as the shrimp become perfectly cooked.

Plating

Drain the pasta well, toss the pasta with the Court Bouillon Sauce (made with Shrimp heads and shells which you strained earlier). Then transfer the pasta in equal amounts to nice white bowls (personal preference). Top the pasta with the Shrimp, Fresh Parmesan and Green Onions. 

Enjoy!

Ernie