By Cody is on day three hundred and five of his sentence. Past the halfway mark. He told me at the visit on Saturday morning, with the kind of careful steady voice he has earned this year. The math: 305 of 670 days, more than 45 percent through. The math has decided we are on the back half now.
I am writing it down in pen because the back half is a different kind of count than the front half. The front half is the climb. The back half is the descent. I have read this in books. I had not believed it until Saturday morning. Saturday morning, with Cody across the metal table in his orange uniform telling me he had passed the halfway mark, I felt it for the first time in my own body. The back half is real. The back half is what we are in now.
And the recipe Sunday was smoky shrimp pasta salad with chipotle honey vinaigrette. The trigger was the Walmart sale — one-pound bags of frozen peeled shrimp at $4.99, the cheapest shrimp price of the year, which is the price I have been waiting on since spring. I bought one bag. The recipe was a Mel’s Kitchen Cafe one I had been holding in the notebook since August.
The math: a pound of frozen shrimp $4.99, a pound of bowtie pasta $0.89, a small can of chipotles in adobo $1.49 (used two peppers; the rest froze), honey from the bottle, lime, garlic, smoked paprika, chopped fresh cilantro, olive oil, salt. Total: about $9.40 for a big bowl that fed Mama and me for three lunches.
The technique is the smoky-sear and the chipotle vinaigrette. You thaw the shrimp under cold running water, pat dry. You toss them with smoked paprika, salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil. You sear them in a hot dry cast-iron skillet for two minutes per side, until pink and slightly charred at the edges. You set them aside. You cook the bowtie pasta to al dente, drain, rinse cold, set aside.
The vinaigrette is the dressing I want you to keep. Two minced chipotle peppers from the can, two tablespoons of honey, three tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of one lime, two cloves of minced garlic, a pinch of smoked paprika, salt. Whisk in a small bowl. The dressing is sweet, smoky, slightly spicy, slightly bright.
You toss the cooled pasta with the dressing first, then the seared shrimp, then a handful of chopped cilantro at the end. The salad gets better in the fridge for an hour. You serve cold or room temperature.
Mama said, when she ate this Sunday night, baby, this is the kind of pasta salad I would eat for lunch every day. The shrimp at $4.99 was the unlocking ingredient. The chipotle vinaigrette is the keeper.
The recipe is below. The trick is the chipotle honey vinaigrette — do not substitute. The shrimp goes pink in two minutes per side; do not overcook.
Smoky Shrimp Pasta Salad with Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 12 oz rotini or penne pasta
- 1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil (for cooking shrimp)
- 1 cup corn kernels (fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned and drained)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1–2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (plus 1 tsp adobo sauce)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop cooking, and set aside.
- Season the shrimp. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. In a bowl, toss shrimp with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
- Cook the shrimp. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook 1–2 minutes per side until pink and just opaque. Do not overcrowd the pan — work in batches if needed. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, honey, minced chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic, and smoked paprika in a small bowl or jar. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust heat by adding more chipotle if desired.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta, corn, red bell pepper, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. Add the cooked shrimp and pour vinaigrette over the top. Toss gently to coat everything evenly.
- Finish and serve. Scatter fresh cilantro over the top. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving. If making ahead, hold back a few tablespoons of dressing and toss again just before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 430 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 50g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 560mg