Good and bad from Poppycocks…
So, the bad I will get out of the way first. We had dinner one night at Poppycocks in Traverse City, MI and my husband had the worst meal ever. It was cold, the plating didn’t make sense, vegetables looked raw and even after sending it back it still wasn’t good or even hot. In almost 50 years of marriage I don’t think he has sent anything back. The fish had no color and looked steamed and who puts a big chunk of cold tomato under a cooked piece of fish.
Now to the good. I really felt quilty eating my delicious Key Lime Shrimp and Pasta dish. It was so good and the lime flavor was so refreshing. I offered him a bite (only one) which he refused because he was waiting on his plate to be reheated. I think maybe they took the plate back and just looked at it and brought it back. So much for the SPECIAL of the evening.
This dish uses trottole pasta. Sure, it kind of looks like corkscrew pasta but this one looks more like little spinning tops. I bought mine from Amazon because I didn’t want to search for it. Kroger’s Private Selection brand is suppose to have this pasta and I’ve found it at Tuesday Morning before. TM always have some interesting shape pasta. (NOTE: I paid $12 for mine and after checking Krogers I found it for less than $2.00 a bag — should have looked there first but when my first go to groceries didn’t have it I never thought of looking at Krogers.
All pastas are basically the same ingredients but it’s the shape that counts in a lot of recipes. If you have a clingy type sauce then you want a real curvy pasta to help hold all that sauce.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: If you are thinking of Fall desserts try my Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce. It’s delicious.
Shrimp and some of the other ingredients.
I put some cajun seasoning on this and hub grilled it for me.
The cooked pasta add with the sautéed tomatoes, and spinach.
Stir in sauce and add some parmesan cheese.
Yum. Serve with some lime slices if you want a little more tartness.
Key Lime Shrimp with Trottole Pasta
Trottole (top shaped) pasta with key lime shrimp, heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb. shrimp shelled and deveined
- 1-2 Tbsp. cajun style seasoning
- 10 oz. package of trottole noodles*
- 1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cups spinach stemmed and cut in large pieces
- 1/2 c. parmesan cheese
Sauce:
- 1/3 c. white wine
- 3 Tbsp. key lime juice
- 1/2 tsp. key lime zest
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot
- 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. garlic
- 2 Tbsp. whipping cream
- 1 c. unsalted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sprinkle the cajun seasoning over the shrimp and either grill, cook in skillet or pop in oven until shrimp is done (pink). Set aside.
- Make the sauce and keep warm over a pan of simmering water.
- For Sauce: combine first five ingredients of the sauce in a small skillet; cook over medium heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons. Stir in the whipping cream and cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat; strain through sieve. Stir in lime zest and salt. Keep warm until ready to put dish together.
Cook the pasta until just al dente, drain. To a large skillet add the olive oil and when hot add in the tomatoes and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the pasta, shrimp, and spinach and add in the key lime sauce; you may not need or want all the sauce.
- Serve and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
I bought my pasta from Amazon for $12 a bag. I've bought it in specialty stores for about the same price. After "googling" I found it at Krogers for under $2.00 a bag. So look at Krogers first.
2 Comments
Jan Dalton
August 20, 2021 at 8:44 amTwo of us had the key lime shrimp last night at Poppycocks. Loved it! Can’t wait to try your recipe. Thank you for posting.
Sherry
September 17, 2021 at 3:07 pmHope you will give it a try. I loved it when I made it.