Galvanized Pasta #recipe from Molly MacRae

 

To galvanize something is (according to Merriam Webster) to subject it to “the action of an electric current especially for the purpose of stimulating physiologically.” Cooking a dish on an electric stove isn’t exactly the same thing, but a current is involved and a good dish does stimulate the partakers physiologically (in a good way).

I found this recipe in A Gothic Cookbook: Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales, by Ella Buchan and illustrated by Lee Henry. Buchan ingeniously pairs 60 original recipes with her chosen classic tales. Galvanized pasta (called galvanized vermicelli in the book) is one of the recipes paired with Frankenstein – fitting because Dr. Frankenstein brought his monster to life by galvanizing him.

If you make this heady mix of LOTS of garlic, two jalapenos, and handfuls of fresh herbs, plus capers and lime juice, you’ll feel galvanized, too.

 

Galvanized Pasta

Adapted from A Gothic Cookbook: Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales

 

Ingredients

1 pound pasta (I used rotini, because that’s what we had. Next time I’ll try the vermicelli the original recipe called for.)

1 1/3 cup peas, fresh or frozen

Large handful each fresh mint, basil, and flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (I forgot the parsley!)

6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 cup capers

Juice from 4 limes

2 jalapeños (include ribs and seeds for a more galvanized flavor), roughly chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese to serve

 

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the package.

While the pasta cooks, add all the rest of the ingredients, except the Parmesan, to a food processor and blitz to create a smooth, silky sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a saucepan and warm over medium heat.

Drain the pasta, return to the pot, and add the warmed sauce. Toss well so each strand is nicely coated. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

 

Coming in June 2025!

There’ll be Shell to Pay

Haunted Shell Shop book 2

 

When she’s not selling seashells by the North Carolina seashore from her shell shop, Maureen Nash is a crime-solving sleuth with a ghost pirate for a supernatural sidekick . . .

Maureen is still getting used to life on Ocracoke Island, learning how to play the “shell game” of her business—and ghost whispering with the spirit of Emrys Lloyd, the eighteenth-century Welsh pirate who haunts her shop, The Moon Shell. The spectral buccaneer has unburied a treasure hidden in the shop’s attic that turns out to be antique shell art stolen from Maureen’s late husband’s family years ago.

Victor “Shelly” Sullivan and his wife Lenrose visit the shop and specifically inquire about these rare items. Not only is it suspicious that this shell collector should arrive around the time Maureen found the art, but Emrys insists that Sullivan’s wife is an imposter because Lenrose is dead. A woman’s corpse the police have been unable to identify was discovered by the Fig Ladies, a group who formed an online fig appreciation society. They’re meeting on Ocracoke for the first time in person and count Lenrose among their number, so the woman can’t possibly be dead.

But Lenrose’s behavior doesn’t quite match the person the Fig Ladies interacted with online. Now, Maureen and Emrys—with assistance from the Fig Ladies—must prove the real Lenrose is dead and unmask her mysterious pretender before a desperate murderer strikes again . . .

 

Writing as Margaret Welch

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.