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A Mouthful of Pasta in Punta Mita and Punta de Mita


By Kathleen Horner



There's something luxurious about a mouthful of pasta—it's not a strand-at-a-time thing. Sure, you may start out with one fusilli dangling delicately on a fork, but add a bounty of local seafoods and Alfredo sauce and pretty soon you'll be grabbing a napkin. Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.


Head to Hector's Kitchen at Kupuri Beach Club for his Pacific Fettuccini with Baja mussels and blue shrimp. It's a bowl of perfectly-cooked pasta in a mildly-flavored sauce very much like a seafood bisque. Hector boils shrimp and lobster shells to make a stock, adds half-and-half cream, thyme and bay leaf, and a buttery tomato base. A little Rosé wine instead of the more traditional splash of Sherry gives the sauce depth. Three tender mussels and three giant shrimp complete the dish. 















 




On the beach in town, there are eight pasta dishes on the menu at La Rustica, but the most popular is La Jefa: penne tossed in a pesto cream sauce with grilled chicken, crowned with peppery arugula and shaved parmesan cheese, and a few toasted pumpkin seeds. There's a generous portion of chicken breast, grilled and then sliced, and fork-tender. The pesto cream is well-balanced (not too much garlic, not overly basil). Easy to taste why this dish is "the boss."  







The Pappardelle with Alfredo and Bolognese sauce at Mercedes Cocina is perfection, topped with Baja shrimp or by itself. The Alfredo is simple: cream, butter, parmesan, salt and pepper. The Bolognese is complex: one bottle of wine for every kilo of meat, slow-simmered until reduced, and blended with a Pomodoro made from tomatoes roasted in a wood-fired oven. The fresh pasta is tossed in the Alfredo, then topped with the Bolognese—kind of like the perfect sundae.






 

A dash of anise-flavored Pernot makes the Shrimp Fettucine at La Pescadora divine. Fennel, celery, and basil round out the flavors in this cream sauce. Ask the kitchen and they'll agree it is also made with love. They toss it with thin fettuccine cooked al dente and tenderly sautéed shrimp. 

 

Adding Pernot to a cream sauce for seafood isn't a new idea—there are recipes dating back to the 1960s New York restaurant scene. An excellent Pernot sauce recipe appears in A TASTE of Punta Mita (available at Casa Mita). (It comes together in a flash with fresh pasta available at the La Cruz Sunday market!)

 

Shrimp Cote d'Azur Style

(adapted from Kupuri Beach Club)

4 Portions



 

For the Linguini

1 lb fresh squid ink pasta (fresh spinach pasta may be substituted)

1 tsp salt

 

1. Boil 3-4 quarts of water with salt in a large pot. Cook the pasta al dente (about 90 seconds).
2. Drain and hold in chilled cold water

 

For the Sauce

  • 1 lb U15-sized (12-15 to a pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • ½ tsp finely chopped garlic a
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tbs Pernot Ricard Pastis
  • 2 cups half-and-half cream
  • 1-2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the shrimp evenly on both sides. When almost done, add the garlic, take the pan away from the flame and flambé with the Pernot. (Be careful and watch your face.)
2. Once the flame has subsided, return the pan to the fire. Let reduce slightly.
3. Add cream and a couple of drops of food coloring until the desired color is achieved.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce to a creamy consistency.

 

Assembly

1. Heat the pasta in another pan with a little butter
2. Serve in a deep dish and garnish with parsley, edible flowers, and balsamic reduction