Shrimp never flop on a warm and fragrant bed of basil- and lemon-scented linguine.
SERVES 6
LEMON PASTE
| Juice of 1 lemon | |
| 1 | teaspoon olive oil |
| 1½ | teaspoons crumbled dried basil or dried marjoram |
| ½ | teaspoon kosher salt or other coarse salt |
| ½ | teaspoon crushed dried hot red chile |
| 1¼ | pounds medium shrimp, peeled and, if you wish, deveined |
LEMON SAUCE
| ⅔ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
| Zest and juice of 2 medium lemons | |
| 1 | cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese, at room temperature |
| ½ | teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper |
| 1 | pound linguine |
| ½ | cup fresh basil, torn or sliced in shreds |
Prepare the paste, mixing together the ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the shrimp to the bowl, rub them with the paste, and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
Prepare the sauce, first pouring the oil in a large, shallow serving bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice, cheese, and pepper. Cook the linguine according to the package directions and, when done, toss with the sauce.
Drain the shrimp and blot them of any remaining moisture. Grill the shrimp uncovered over high heat for 1½ to 2 minutes per side, until opaque with lightly browned edges. If grilling covered, cook the shrimp for the same amount of time, turning once midway. (The shrimp can be grilled earlier in the day, covered, and refrigerated. Remove them from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving. Toss them with the pasta to warm through, rather than place them on top of it, as directed in the next step.)
Arrange the shrimp over the linguine, scatter basil over the top, and serve immediately.
Perhaps no one has influenced American cooking more than Fannie Merritt Farmer, who achieved national prominence with The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, first published in 1896. Revised thirteen times since then, under a succession of editors and authors, the tome remains a top seller today as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
Fannie didn't grill or barbecue in the early years. She broiled a few foods—including Hamburg steaks—in the kitchen "over or in front of a clear fire," but made no mention of outdoor cooking methods or traditions. It took four decades to broach the subject at all, and then the first steps were cautious and a little confused. In an update of Fannie's cookbook released right before World War II, the erstwhile editor equated grilling with broiling and introduced two new "barbecued" dishes, both oven-broiled and basted with a sauce.
By the time Wilma Lord Perkins wrote the tenth edition in 1959—now The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook—outdoor cooking had begun to get notice. Perkins tells readers that portable grills are "a practical piece of equipment for the backyard or patio." She adds only a basic selection of grilled recipes, but does suggest that cooks plan on a pound of bone-in meat per person because "out-of-door appetites are apt to be huge" and the "food tastes superb."
Fannie finally reached her stride as a grill tutor when Marion Cunningham took over the most recent revisions of the cookbook. Now outdoor cooking rates a full chapter, replete with recipes, tips, and information on equipment and fuels. The discussion of direct and indirect cooking methods is short but more to the point than many whole books on grilling. Fannie may have been a slow learner on this unfamiliar turf, but she wised up in the end.