Best known for her easy mix of cooking traditions from the American South and her homeland of Kerala in Southern India, Chef Asha Gomez continues to evolve her unique cooking style.

In this next vibrant cookbook, I Cook in Color, Asha embraces dishes from around the globe, celebrating international flavour profiles and the melding of culinary traditions that reflect both her cherished memories of her mother’s Kerala kitchen, as well as her extraordinary travel experiences.

Recipes include Thai Green Papaya Salad with Dried Shrimp, Catalonian Paella, Passion Fruit, Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Capers, Lime & Grapefruit Grouper Ceviche, Grilled Meyer Lemon Chili Corn, Pomegranate & Date Molasses Chicken, and Mango Cardamom Cake.

I Cook in Color: Bright Flavors from My Kitchen and Around the World is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.

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Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Capers

When I spent my college years in New York City, each weeknight was a food adventure, from India Town to Chinatown, Little Italy, and beyond. I remember stumbling onto this quaint little Italian restaurant, and every time I had a craving for Italian, I’d find my way there. I believe it was over on Mulberry Street. The name escapes me after all these years. What hasn’t left me was the warm service with seasoned servers, who spoke Italian, and their spicy shrimp marinara over linguini. Over the years, I’ve made variations of that dish many times over.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, smashed

2 teaspoons Calabrian hot crushed chili

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

2 teaspoons granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tail on

½ cup brine-packed capers, drained

12 ounces linguine, cooked

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil. Add the garlic and let it turn golden brown; this should happen in under a minute. Add the hot crushed chili and stir for 30 seconds, so the chili blooms in the oil. Then add the tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Lower the heat and let the tomatoes break down and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the heat back to high, toss in the shrimp and capers, and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes until the shrimp is cooked. Remove from the heat and serve over linguini.

NOTES

Find an Italian market, and you’ll be able to source the Calabrian hot crushed chili. If you can’t find it, use regular crushed chili flakes.

Excerpted from I COOK IN COLOR: Bright Flavors from My Kitchen and Around the World by Asha Gomez and Martha Hall Foose. Copyright © 2020. Available from Running Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.