Lavender Scampi

After putting on an event at Gorman Heritage Farm like Savor the Season, what do you do the next day?  Get inspired to cook something of your own that savors the Spring season in Ohio!  Les and I went on our Sunday morning walks to Findlay Market this morning to gain some more inspiration.

Lavender Scampi with fresh homemade pasta was decided on after we indulged ourselves in pastries at Skirtz and Johnston, and Honey Lavender gelato and espresso at Dojo Gelato.

Homemade Pasta


Ingredients:

• 9 local eggs (from Madison's at Findlay Market)
• 27 ounces of flour
• 4 tbsp olive oil

1. Put flour in a bowl and make a hole in the middle of the flour. 
2. Crack all eggs inside of hole in flour. Slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs with your hands. This is fun. You get quick messy.
3. Add enough olive oil to make dough firm buy pliable.
4. Turn out dough and kneed for 5-10 minutes until the dough is shiny (not just from the oil). 
5. Wrap up in a reusable plastic bag and set aside for at least 30 - 1 hour. (you can also let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.)
6. Cut into 12 pieces and roll out using a Kitchen pasta attachment. 
7. We used only 1 piece for the following recipe. So we put the rest on a pasta dryer that Les made for me. That can be saved dried for about a month (but it's definitely better completely fresh.)

Lavender Scampi

Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 lb asparagus - from Gorman Heritage Farm
• 1/2 cup olive oil reserve 2 tbsp for pan
• 1 tbsp capers (can sub pickled nasturtium seeds)
• 1 tbsp ground lavender flowers - From Gorman Heritage Farm
• 1 tsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon and peel + juice of half another lemon for topping
• 2 cups white wine (look for something dry and mineral tasting) - bought at Market Vines
• 4 tbsp butter
• salt/pepper
• 5 cloves garlic coarsely chopped - from Madison's (our sprouted already sadly)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped - from our garden

1. Marinate shrimp in olive oil, lavender, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and honey for 1 hour. After 1 hour drain shrimp and set aside marinade
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive in bottom of pan. Place garlic and shrimp in the pan and cook evenly for 2 minutes. Flip shrimp and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon to keep oil in the pan.
3. Throw in asparagus and marinade and boil. Scrape any brown bits of the pan into the sauce. Once asparagus is tender, about 5-10 minutes, toss shrimp with chopped parsley back to the pan.
4. While preparing the scampi bring water to boil with salt (the water should be quite salty - like the Mediterranean Sea). Toss fresh pasta into the water and boil for about 4 minutes. (this will be longer if you are using dry pasta)
5. Strain pasta and top with the scampi. Garnish with a good amount of fresh lemon juice and a spring of parsley. We also added some delicious sourdough bread.