Camusclim (Pasta and Shrimp Casserole)
This creamy-zesty pasta casserole combines shrimp, melted cheese, and béchamel. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2012 issue along with Neide Rigo's story Passage to the Amazon.
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Credit: James Oseland
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ lb. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, roughly chopped2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 tbsp. minced Brazilian pickled chiles (optional; available at Company of Herbs)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
½ Italian frying pepper, stemmed, seeded, minced
2 tomatoes, cored, and minced
1 tsp. ground annatto seed (available at The Great American Spice Company)
½ cup minced Thai basil leaves
⅓ cup minced cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 ½ cups anellini (available at Piccolo's Gastronomia Italiana) or macaroni
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup flour
4 cups milk
3 cups freshly grated parmesan
10 oz. fresh mozzarella, grated
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Toss together shrimp and lime juice in a bowl; let marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add chiles, garlic, and pepper; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp and annatto; cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cilantro, and salt and pepper; set shrimp mixture aside.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add pasta; cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil and butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; cook until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add milk and whisk until smooth; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and add drained pasta; stir to combine.
3. Heat oven to 425°. Spread half the pasta over bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish; top with half each the shrimp mixture, parmesan, and mozzarella. Repeat layering; bake until browned, about 30 minutes.
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For the more timid home chef, with young family members, this is tuna casserole on steroids. Three kids under 13 gobbled it up. And parents had heaping seconds.
The briny-ness of a pound and a half of shrimp in the skillet with the pickled peppers (I did the Saveur home pickling recipe for the Brazilian pickles, also excellent), had me freaked out that this would be inedible (low fishiness tolerance). But, let's just say, the bechamel and cheese more than took care of that.
I had all the ingredients, save the anellini. My local Italian shop has 100 different kinds of de cecco pasta...but not that one! used macaroni, very good.