Saint Marta's Sauté

Marta was the sister of Mary of Bethany and Lazarus. The name Marta means mistress of the house. When Jesus came to visit, she happily cooked for Him. Because of this she is sometimes referred to as the patron saint of cooks and entertaining. This dish is named in honor of Marta.


Servings: 4
Time: Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 15 minutes
Hardware: measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a large heavy bottom skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet), a large pot, a colander, a wooden spoon, a serving bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 6 ounces of portabelloa mushrooms-two large mushrooms
• 3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes in oil-this is about ½ cup-drained 
• 6 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts-do not drain.
• ½ pound (31-35 count) shrimp (You can usually buy these from your fish monger already cleaned. It saves so much time.)
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream
• 4 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
• 8 ounces of uncooked fettuccine
• Salt

We eat first with our eyes

1. Put 4 quarts of salted water on to boil.
2. Mince the garlic. Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms. Chop the tomatoes. Rinse the shrimp and remove their tails. Set aside.
3. Place the butter in the skillet on medium low. Allow the butter to melt. This should take 2 minutes or so.
4. The water should be boiling by now. Place the pasta in the boiling water. Allow the pasta to return to a boil and cook for 11 minutes. Stir occasionally.
5. When the pasta returns to a boil you can start on the sauce. Turn the heat under the butter up to medium and add the garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and the entire contents of the jar of artichokes, including the liquid. Adjust the heat until the dish is bubbling. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms begin to give up their liquid. Nothing should be browning. This should take about 5 minutes. Stir this occasionally.
6. When the mushrooms begin to look soft, add the shrimp to the pan. Cook this just until the shrimp turn pink. This should take 2 or 3 minutes.
7. When the shrimp is no longer translucent remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sour cream.
8. Drain the pasta but do not rinse it. Place the pasta in the serving dish and toss with the butter sauce. Crumble the feta cheese over the dish.
• Never rinse pasta.  The outside of cooked pasta is starchy and will quickly absorb the flavor of the sauce you add it to.  If you rinse the pasta, you rinse off the starch.  Also, you should try to get the pasta into the sauce as quickly as possible.  It will soak up the sauce faster.

 Serve immediately. Offer your guests more crumbled feta at the table.