The balance of plain and extraordinary is a little tipped with this dish if we consider taste only that is. Considering the time in which this came together plain and simple has new meaning. I thought the only means by which to cook that boasts crazy simple instructions were crock pots. The infamous ingredient dumping along with a “set it and forget it” recipe has just been replaced with my long forgotten but now new “oven roasting” method. Though there are possibly some restrictions as to what you can actually pan roast in an oven (I am only supposing as I have not tested out that theory/statement) it is a deliciously simple and very quick alternative to slow cooking and even more welcomed in my house seeing how I have been known to let the early hours of the morning slip by without a thought that dinner has to be had in the evening.
When thinking of what kind of meal I would highlight today, I had a simple plan of ingredients I would combine. Somehow, more than likely because I was desperately starving when I went marketing for the ingredients, I began envisioning this recipe with all sorts of twists and turns making it now what I like to affectionately refer to as my “sophisticated masterpiece”. A roasted tomato vinaigrette totally distinguishes this meal from any other I’ve ever created and adds a flair of “Je ne sais quoi”. And that, my friend, is exactly the feeling you want to muster when you sit before a beautiful feast as this.
Roasted Shrimp With Cannellini Beans And Cauliflower
By Published: April 25, 2011
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Prep: 10 mins
A roasted tomato vinaigrette totally distinguishes this meal from any other I’ve ever created and adds a flair of “Je ne sais quoi”
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. shrimp peeled and deveined (get frozen ready to use)
- 2 slices bacon cut in 1 inch sections
- 1/2 onion cut in wedges
- 1 cup cauliflower flowerettes
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 lb. red grape tomatoes
- 1 can cannelini beans drained, rinsed, patted dry
- 1 cup quinoa cooked according to package
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup plus 2T. red wine vinegar
- 4 leaves of fresh sage
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Cook your quinoa according to the package instructions.
- Preheat the oven set to high broil. On a large cookie sheet combine the first 6 ingredients. Drizzle with olive oil and generously coat with smoked paprika. Roast the pan set about 10 inches away from the heat 10-12 minutes. Midway through take an egg turner and turn your ingredients.
- The roasted onion, garlic, and tomato turns an ordinary oil and vinegar okay condiment into a wonderfully tangy mildly sweet yet with very subtle undertones of smokiness. It is certainly the “wow factor” I was looking for.
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In a food processor spoon in your roasted tomato, garlic, onion and the drippings from the bacon. You can omit the bacon grease and stick to the olive oil if you are concerned about saturated fat.
Place in a handful of fresh tomatoes, fresh sage, add the vinegar and puree’ these ingredients. Drizzle in the 1/2 cup olive oil.
On a bed of lettuce spoon out the quinoa, top with beans and spoon the roasted bacon and cauliflower. Top with the tomato vinaigrette.
