Pasta with shrimp, fennel & red peppers

Here's a pasta dish that is delicious any time of the year. I have experimented with including scallops, cod or other white fish in the dish along with the shrimp. And, if you don't eat fish, you could even substitute some kind of legumes like lentils or chick peas. 

Pasta with Shrimp, Fennel & Red Peppers
Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. fresh or thawed medium sized shrimp 
• 6 ounces of crumbled feta cheese (I used Saputo)
• 2 tablespoon butter/olive oil
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 tsp. dried basil or 1/4 cup of fresh - finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped in medium sized chunks
• ​1 lb. mushrooms, chopped in slices 
• 1  medium size fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced fine 
• 1/2 cup of kale or parsley, finely chopped
• shake of fresh pepper
• salt to taste

Put on a medium-sized pot of water with 1 tsp. of salt on stove to boil.

​Heat another medium-sized skillet on medium heat, and add butter and olive oil. Once the fats are hot, add your chopped onions, fennel, red peppers and garlic and cook until soft  - about 5 minutes. Add your chopped mushrooms and simmer for another 2 minutes until mushrooms are starting to be soft.
 
Next add the cup of white wine and let simmer for about 4-5 minutes or until most of the wine has cooked down. Add crumbled feta cheese, basil, and cover. Cook on medium heat for about another 3-5 minutes - as long as it takes for the feta to melt. If once it has melted, it is too dry, you can add more white wine -  1 or 2 tablespoons.
 
Add shrimp and chopped parsley or kale to sauce and keep pot on low heat. It should only take about 3 -5 minutes before the shrimp are pink and cooked and the sauce can either be kept on low or turned off while you wait for the pasta to cook. You may want to taste it and see if it needs salt and pepper - I found the feta provides enough salt on its own.
 
Add linguine or pasta of your choice to boiling, salted water and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta and add to a casserole dish, along with the red pepper-cod mixture. Toss together lightly before serving. If you wanted more cheese, you could sprinkle with parmesan before serving. I have used both regular pasta and black bean pasta with this dish and both worked well.