Old Bay Shrimp & Veggie Pasta

A new vendor - Bushdogs - recently joined the Pike Central family. George Bushwaller has been in the food industry since 1971. He had a restaurant in Frederick that he sold in 1990 when he moved down to Florida. For the last 4 years he and his wife Joanna have been selling to farm markets in Florida, where MD style seafood is extremely popular. Recently, they decided to come back to George’s hometown to spread the love.They specialize in fresh, Maryland seafood. Nearly selling out the last few weeks at Pike Central Farm Market is something they are used to - people love their veggie-based MD Crab Soup and their Crab Bisque. They sell huge crab cakes with less than 1% breadcrumbs, and two different kinds of shrimp - Chesapeake Shrimp Salad (Imperial Style) and Old Bay Shrimp Cocktail. I chose the latter to create the recipe below and I was quite happy with my decision.This time of year, Spiral Path Farm has amazing Sun Sugar Tomatoes available. These tomatoes won a taste contest last year and it is no surprise why - each one is bursting with the most unbelievable flavor. These tomatoes are one of my favorite snacks! I also used Spiral Path’s snow peas - another great snacking item. These legumes are peas that are eaten whole, shell and all, and are delicious raw or cooked. If you are unable to make it to Bethesda to grab these items from Spiral Path Farm, you can get the tomatoes from Mock’s Green House and the snow peas from Twin Springs Fruit Farm - both are at all three Central Farm Markets locations.Another gem in this recipe is the spice blend from Two Acre Farm. Nicole Olson makes some of the most interesting amalgamations of spices and sells them in tiny bags with cute labels on them. In the recipe, I left the spice blend choice open-ended because there are so many different options. I used Ragin’ Cajun, a blend that Nicole said would work very well with the Old Bay used to cook Bushdog’s shrimp. She was not mistaken. Other flavors include Honey Garlic and Coffee Cocoa.One of my favorite things to do during the week is challenge myself to create dishes using only ingredients from the market, without a single store-bought ingredient. I am happy to say that this delicious recipe fits that bill - everything can be found at one or all of the Central Farm Markets locations.

Old Bay Shrimp and Veggie Pasta

Serves 4INGREDIENTS

• 1 Pint Shrimp Salad (Bushdogs)
• 1 lb. Tagliatelle (Cavanna Pasta [Bethesda] or Pappardelle’s Pasta [Pike and Mosaic])
• 1 Large Zucchini (Two Acre Farm)
• 1 Pint Snow Peas (Spiral Path Farm)
• 1 Pint Sun Sugar Tomatoes (Spiral Path Farm)
• 2 Large Pearl Onions (Westmoreland Berry Farm)
• 4 tsp. Spice Blend of your choice (Two Acres Farm)
• 5 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided (All Things Olive)

Optional Garnish:

• Asiago Cheese Shavings (Stonyman Gourmet Farmer)

DIRECTIONSCook pasta according to instructions. When the pasta is cooked and drained, immediately toss it with 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil. Set aside.Using the coarsest side of a box grater, grate the zucchini. Thinly slice the pearl onions, using only the white parts. Pick the stems off of the snow peas. Cut the tomatoes into quarters.Add 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil to a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the onions and 2 tsp. of the Spice Blend. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are tender and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the snow peas and shrimp to the pan and toss to coat. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of Olive Oil and another 1-2 tsp. of the Spice Blend (depending on your taste buds - I like a lot of flavor so I added more).When the snow peas begin to get translucent and the shrimp is heated, turn off the stove and add the zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes, to keep the crunch of the zucchini. Toss the pasta into the pan and mix everything together. Add salt, pepper, and Spice Blend to taste.Plate your dish and garnish with delicious sun sugar tomato slices and if desired, asiago cheese shavings.