KG Black Linguine

Ever since Kensington Grill changed their menu about 5 years ago I have been longing for my favorite dish on the old menu that is no longer an option. Me and three of my fabulous girls friends (LJSC) would go to KG and we would all order the same thing. Black Linguine with Shrimp & Spicy Red Pepper Drizzle. We each would have our own bowl of it (sharing was not an option) and if anyone strayed away from the Black Linguine and tried something different would leave the restaurant saying, "I should of ordered the Black Linguine". Not that the other dishes were bad by any means. In fact they were all amazing and sometimes we were overwhelmed by all the intriguing choices. I'm sure you are familiar with having your favorite dish at certain restaurants and find it hard to stray away. When you do, you wish you hadn't.

I have tried to re-create it so many times but failed to make it exactly like KG. My taste buds have not been satisfied from the flavors of the Black Linguine I have been making. Until NOW! I decided to email Tracy Borkum who is the owner of Kensington Grill and Urban Kitchen Group. I knew it was a long shot and I didn't expect a response back but to my surprise she responded! Not only did she respond she was going to have Chef Hanis Cavin prepare the recipe for me! I shot her my email address and on March 23rd an email with the subject KG Black Linguine came through! I emailed the recipe right away to my three girl friends who I used to share the black linguine culinary experiance with and the subject line read, "The Search Is Over". I made a date with one of my girl friends to cook the Black Linguine and now I plan to share it with you! It is not a difficult recipe and I did alter it a little bit to my liking. I decided that roasting the peppers would be a bit easier then charing them over an open flame. This pasta is so flavorful and the spicy red pepper drizzle is awesome but really spicy. Feel free to adjust the chili flakes to your liking. I would even make half of the drizzle recipe. I had a lot left over and you really just drizzle it on the pasta. Use a squeeze bottle if you have one. If you want to cook it for more then 2 people you really don't need to double the sauce recipe but double the pasta. The sauce goes a long way! I felt as if I was sitting at Kensington Grill eating the Black Linguine. It was just as I remembered and now I can make it any time I want! The best part was the amount of fun I had making it with my friend. It was a blast! Kensinton Grill Black Linguine / Shrimp / Spicy Red Pepper Drizzle serves 2 12 oz squid ink linguine (Assenti's Pasta) 20 ea. large shrimp - peeled and deveined 1/2 cup red bell pepper - diced 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper - diced 1/2 cup green bell pepper - diced 2 T shallots - minced 2 T garlic - minced 1 cup white wine 1/4# butter - cubed salt & pepper to taste 12oz. Spicy Red Bell Pepper Drizzle - recipe below Spicy Red Bell Pepper Drizzle make half this recipe for less 3 ea. Red Bell Peppers - seeds and core removed & roasted 6 oz. vegetable broth 1T garlic 1 T red chili flakes salt & pepper Preheat oven to 350 degrees and roast red bell peppers till black around the edges. Around 20 minutes. Let cool and peel the skin off the peppers. Place bell pepper, vegetable stock, and garlic into blender. Puree until there aren't any more large pieces. Add chili flakes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a hot saute pan add a little oil then add the shrimp and cook 3 minutes, turn shrimp and then add all the diced peppers, shallots and garlic.

Cook another 3 minutes then add wine and butter, cook for another 5-10 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Cook the fresh Black Linguine for about 2-3 minutes, strain and toss with the sauce and shrimp. Drizzle the spicy red bell pepper sauce around the edge of the pasta.

Enjoy. Kensington Grill 4055 adams ave. san diego ca. 619-281-4014