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Pasta Shells with Fresh Herbs
from the kitchen of:
Sharmagne Leland-St. John
My kitchen is a good distance away from the verandah, where we like to
take
our meals during the summer, and at special parties. After harvesting
the
fresh herbs from my kitchen garden I make this dish right at the table,
so I
don't miss all the fun and good conversation. Also I can always count on
my
girlfriends to help separate the leaves from the stems while I chop the
herbs
on a cutting board. For those of you who do not grow herbs at
home, you can
usually buy them fresh in the produce section of your local supermarket.
You
may also use different varieties of the same herb, such as lemon
thyme as
well as English thyme. You may include the flowers if they are in
bloom.
After removing the stems, coarsely chop:
1 1/2 cups fresh herbs
Such as:
Chives
Basil
Rosemary
Sage
Parsley
Oregano
Tarragon
Thyme
Mint
Fennel
Place the herbs in a large bowl . (I use a glazed Mexican bowl.)
1 pound of large pasta shells
1 or more dried hot red peppers according to taste.
6 tablespoons fruity olive oil
Cook the pasta according to directions, adding the peppers to the
boiling
water. When the shells are "al dente," drain the pasta
in a colander and
discard the peppers. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan until
extremely
warm but do not bring to a boil or allow to smoke! Pour the warm
oil over
the herbs in the bowl and add the drained pasta. Toss the
pasta/herb mixture
until the shells are well coated. Serve immediately.
The show stopper part of this dish is the wonderful aromatic fragrance
that
rises up from the herbs as the warm oil is poured over them. It is
a great
conversation piece as wall as a sort of aroma therapy!
Bon Appetite!
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