Pasta-Go-Lightly

DEAR SOS: I would like the recipe for fusilli pasta made with shrimp and asparagus as served at Bistango in Irvine.

--TRACY

DEAR TRACY: Chef Paul Gstrein of Bistango complied promptly. It’s a nice, light pasta to serve company, too.

BISTANGO FUSILLI WITH SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS

1 1/2 pounds asparagus

Water

Salt

6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

Grated peel of 1 lemon

36 large shrimp

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

1 pound fusilli, preferably imported Italian

Freshly ground pepper

Parsley sprigs

Remove tough, white part of asparagus and cut green part diagonally into 1/4-inch slices.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add salt to taste and about 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter in large skillet. Add asparagus, garlic and lemon peel and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes until shrimp are done. Add wine and cook until reduced to a glaze. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Remove shrimp to large bowl and keep warm.

Cook fusilli in boiling salted water in large pot until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Place cooked pasta in bowl with shrimp mixture. Add remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and asparagus-lemon mixture. Toss to coat pasta well. Correct seasoning with freshly ground pepper and salt, if necessary.

Divide pasta and shrimp on six heated plates. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. Serve at once.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

505 calories; 144 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 1.42 grams fiber.

Cre^pe de la Cre^pe DEAR SOS: I just returned from Oregon, where I had the most delicious lemon cre^pes at the Riverhouse Restaurant in Pacific City. Can you get the recipe?

--AGNES

DEAR AGNES: Riverhouse sent us this recipe using a basic cre^pe batter, or you can purchase ready-to-heat cre^pes in the dairy counter of many supermarkets.

RIVERHOUSE LEMON CRE^PES

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons oil plus extra for pan

1/3 teaspoon salt

Softened butter

Juice of 1 lemon

Granulated sugar

Grand Marnier or brandy, optional

Powdered sugar

Lemon wedges

CREPES

Combine eggs, milk, flour, oil and salt in blender. Blend until smooth and of heavy cream consistency. Let stand at room temperature 1 to 2 hours for best results.

Place 6- to 10-inch cre^pe or omelet pan over medium heat and brush with oil. Lift pan from heat and pour in just enough batter to cover bottom of pan when swirled. Cook until edges dry, then slide spatula under edges to loosen cre^pe and lift carefully to turn and cook other side.

When other side is brown, shake pan to loosen and slide cre^pe on board or plate. Spread softened butter on cre^pe while still hot. Sprinkle with some of lemon juice and lightly sprinkle with granulated sugar. Drizzle with Grand Marnier, if desired.

Repeat until cre^pe batter is used, stacking cre^pes between sheets of wax paper. (Any cre^pes not used can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.)

Loosely roll up cre^pes. To serve, dust with powdered sugar and serve with lemon wedge.

Makes 12 to 14 cre^pes

Each of 14 servings contains about:

110 calories; 99 mg sodium; 52 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.04 gram fiber.

Taquito Manna DEAR SOS: Alas, I have no recipe for that lovely, thickish, luminescent green manna served with taquitos at Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Would you share a recipe with me?

--DENK

DEAR DENK: You could be referring to guacamole or to tomatillo salsa. We’ll bet on the salsa.

TOMATILLO SALSA FOR TAQUITOS

8 tomatillos

2 cloves garlic

2 sprigs cilantro, chopped

1/2 serrano chile, seeded and deveined

Dash black pepper

Remove parchment-like outer skin of tomatillos. Place tomatillos in saucepan with water to cover. Boil until tender, about 5 minutes.

Combine drained tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, chile and pepper in food processor and process until pureed.

Makes 1 cup.

Each tablespoon contains about:

3 calories; 0 sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.03 gram fiber.

Send requests to Culinary SOS, Food Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. We are unable to answer recipe requests by mail.

To order Dosti’s “DEAR SOS: Thirty Years of Recipe Requests to the Los Angeles Times,” send check for $15.95 plus $3 shipping and handling to Dear SOS, Los Angeles Times, Department FS, Box 2348, Chatsworth, CA 91313-9799. Or call (800) 246-4042 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday to use Visa or MasterCard.