Tuscan Shrimp with White Beans

  This is a wonderful and very simple meal and perfect any time of the year.  By very simple, I mean the ingredients are as simple as the preparation. I cooked this whole recipe up in a 1/2 hour–very little prep other than the shrimp which you can get cleaned and de-veined at your local fish store  and you’ll look like a chef! So great. This is my kind of recipe. I have also made it adding some spinach to it , just add some fresh spinach ( as much or as little as you’d like) to the tomatoes right before you add the shrimp for the final time, let spinach just wilt then add shrimp back in to the pan at the end. Joel really hates spinach so if I’m doing it I cook spinach in a separate pan and add to mine. 
The beans are a perfectly healthy alternative to pasta and very filling.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

*this is for 4 servings and for the 2 of us I used the same amount of sauce just cut the beans to 1 1/2 cups and a little less olive oil. ( see photo) 

3 cups canned Cannellini white beans

1/4 cup plus tablespoons olive oil

app. 16 large shrimp ( this would be 4 per person, so adjust depending on size of shrimp) cleaned and deveined — I sometimes like to leave the tail on the shrimp –as you can see but it is totally up to you.

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper depending on how spicy you want it

1 can of diced tomatoes (15 oz) 

1 cup whole basil leaves-optional if you’re using spinach you won’t use basil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Kosher Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

*you can use some extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

* sprinkle of fresh chopped italian parsley if you like as well

Directions:

Drain the beans over a bowl and reserve the liquid. Put the white beans in a large skillet with just enough of their liquid to moisten them. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and bring the beans to a low simmer. Keep them warm while you prepare the shrimp. Lay out the shrimp on some paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook , tossing frequently for a few minutes till shrimp turns pink , curls up and is cooked. ( don’t overcook) Remove the shrimp to a bowl with tongs. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until the garlic browns a little bit. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and basil and stir briefly, the add the lemon juice. Season with a little more Salt and Pepper and if you’re adding spinach this would be a good time. For 4 people a whole bag of baby spinach is perfect.  Cook for another minute or so, and then stir in the shrimp. Toss well and cook briefly to reheat the shrimp and make sure it’s fully cooked.

I placed beans on a large platter with shrimp over them. Drizzle with a little of the best olive oil you have on hand. Sprinkle with parsley if you’d like. Serve warm. You can also just serve shrimp with beans on the side. I thought it made a lovely presentation on the platter.

* leftovers were amazing