My mom lives north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf coast and I visit once a year. She is of a generation that thinks frozen food is the end all, but I can’t abide by frozen fish, especially not when there’s fresh fish right there. I found a little local fish store in Hernando Beach near where she lives and the only non-local fish they carry is farm-raised salmon. Their range of fish is limited, but you can always find super-fresh and inviting locally caught, less-than-a-day-old grouper and red mullet. I had my heart set on grouper because we don’t have it on the Pacific coast, but when I saw that red snapper I dropped everything and decided to make red snapper and fresh Florida white shrimp with tomatoes and garlic over linguine. I kept it simple (my mom has a limited pantry) and we were all very happy and ate an alarming amount of it.
Red Snapper and White Shrimp with Linguine
1 pound linguine
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound red snapper, cut into cubes
1 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Red chile flakes to taste
1 pound white shrimp, shelled
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, salt abundantly, and cook, stirring occasionally, the linguine until al dente. Drain without rinsing.
2. Meanwhile in a saute pan, heat the olive oil with the garlic over medium heat until it is sizzling then add the red snapper and tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and chile flakes. and cook 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook until it turns color, about 3 minutes. Add the the linguine, toss several times, and serve without cheese.
Makes 4 to 6 servings depending on how good it smells
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