Sometimes inspiration for dinner strikes me at the most opportune times, like today, when I was in the midst of buying ingredients for what I thought I wanted to make for dinner. I had originally planned on grilling up some turkey burgers but needed to serve it with roasted potatoes or frozen tater tots or fries. I went to Sprouts in search of a bag of organic Yukon Gold potatoes but they didn’t have any in stock. On the way to the frozen aisle section, my eyes came across organic bag of frozen baby asparagus. 

I am a huge fan of frozen veggies. They never go bad unless somehow they’re opened and not properly sealed and get freezer burn. I usually buy organic frozen peas, spinach and broccoli in bulk because they’re an easy and necessary addition to all home cooked meals. Organic frozen asparagus is like that unicorn one never expects to find. I grabbed two bags and immediately thought of a replacement dinner menu: a pasta dish with the frozen langostines I previously bought in bulk from Coscto, sautéed in garlic and butter, mixed in with freshly squeezed lemon juice and heavy whipping cream mixed with cut asparagus and topped with some lemon zest and sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes. 

I darted to the spice aisle since I was fresh out of red pepper flakes and after paying for my finds, I headed off to Trader Joe’s to get a bag of organic lemons, a bag of organic gluten-free brown rice and quinoa fusilli pasta and the organic heavy whipping cream. 

To start, I took a 1/3 of the 2 lb langostines from the freezer and did a quick thaw in a bowl full of water and let it sit in the sink for about 15 minutes. I sealed up the remaining langostines in double Ziploc freezer bags and put them back in the freezer.

I got the pot of water boiling for the pasta and got the saute pan ready for the butter and garlic. In the meantime, I opened up the bag of frozen asparagus and proceeded to cut the asparagus in fourths, throwing out the ends. I wanted a size uniformity for the pasta, the langostines and asparagus. 

I added 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and swirled it around to coat the bottom completely. Then I added 2 tablespoons of crushed garlic (thank you Costco for selling these in big containers at $4.99 each). I added the thawed out langostines to the pan and seasoned them with a bit of black pepper. 

When the langostines were halfway cooked, I added the pasta to the boiling water and the frozen asaparus to the pan.

I sautéed both the langostines and asparagus. After they were fully cooked, I removed them from the pan and placed onto a separate plate and stored in my warming oven.

I zested the lemons and saved the zest on a plate or bowl for later. I squeezed the lemons and set aside.

I added the remaining butter to the pan, melted it and added 1 tablespoon of garlic before adding the cream and lemon juice. I stirred frequently and kept it on medium heat so that it didn’t curdle. 

Gluten free pasta tends to cook much faster than regular pasta so it’s important to watch your time, follow the estimate on the package and possibly set your timer. Once it’s al dente, I drained the pasta in a colander. Once it was fully drained, I placed the pasta back in the pot, added the previously cooked langostines and asparagus on top of the pasta and poured the sauce from the saucepan into the pot. 

I mixed up all the ingredients making sure the sauce coated all the ingredients. I sprinkled a bit of red pepper chili flakes and added the lemon zest and served!

1 1 lb bag of organic gluten-free brown rice and quinoa rotini

1 lb frozen langostines, thawed

1 lb frozen organic asparagus

3 tablespoons of organic crushed garlic

4 tablespoons of organic unsalted butter

4 organic lemons

1 quart of organic whipping cream

Organic black pepper to season

Organic red chili pepper flakes to season

1. Thaw the frozen langostines in the refrigerator overnight or a quick thaw in a bowl of water.

2. Boil a pot of water

3. While the pot is boiling, place 2 tablespoons of butter in the saute pan and swirl to coat the surface.

4. Add garlic to the pan and spread it evenly before adding the langostines.

5. Season the langostines with black pepper.

6. Add pasta to the pot of boiling water.

7. Cut the frozen asparagus into thirds and add to the langostines when they’re halfway cooked, stirring often.

8. Once the langostines and asparagus are cooked, remove them from the pan, place them on a plate and into a warming oven or in the oven set at the lowest temperature.

9. Drain the pasta and place back in the pot. 

10. Add 2 tablespoons of butter in the saute pan and add 1 tablespoon of garlic.

11. Add the cream and lemon juice, stirring often.

12. Keep it at medium heat for about 5 minutes.

13. Once the sauce is done, take the plate out of the oven and add to the pasta in the pot, adding the sauce on top. 

14. Stir so that the ingredients are all blended together.

15. Add the lemon zest and sprinkle some red chili pepper flakes.

16. Serve and enjoy!