Linguini with Shrimp and Olive Tapenade

I was over at my neighbor Angela’s house for dinner a few weeks ago and one of the dinner guests brought over some olive tapenade crostini as a starter.  It was so tasty that I went out and got a jar for myself.  I know I could have made it at home but I was lazy (what else is new?).  So instead of making a crostini out of it, I threw it into my dinner.  This pasta dish really has a ton of flavors.  You can easily leave out the shrimp to make it vegetarian friendly.  Leftovers are awesome the next day for lunch! If you’re a fan of olives, you’ll love this.  Enjoy your week.

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound of large size raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• salt and pepper to season
• olive oil for cooking
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, crushed (using the tip of your fingers)
• 1/2 cup of dry vermouth
• 4 tablespoons of olive tapenade
• 1 (16 ounce) package of linguini, cooked to al dente and drizzled with olive oil so it doesn’t stick
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, shredded
• a handful of fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:

Lightly season shrimp with salt and pepper and mix well.  In a large skillet over medium high heat drizzle some olive oil and cook shrimp until opaque but make sure it’s not fully cooked.  Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté chopped onions and garlic until softened.  Season with salt, pepper, dried oregano and red pepper flakes.  Stir to combine.  Pour vermouth and let it bubble and reduce, about 3 minutes.  Then stir in olive tapenade.  Add pasta, shrimp, basil and half of the chopped parsley.  Toss everything together and turn off the heat.  Feel free to add a little more olive oil to coat everything.  At this point the pasta is ready.  Check for seasoning before serving.  Garnish with chopped parsley.