The tomato sauce here should be sharp, slightly tangy, and fresh – contrasting the deep, dark character of others in this collection. I haven’t made this dish in years, opting more recently to eat my shrimp and pasta in a white wine-butter emulsion sauce (call it Scampi) but this is a good example of what’s possible on the brighter, acidic end of the tomato spectrum.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb medium (roughly 30 ct) shrimp, raw
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS white wine or vermouth
- 1 28-oz can of chopped tomatoes or 1 box pomi chopped tomatoes
- 1 TBS red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp each dried oregano and thyme
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
- 1 box short pasta
Directions:
Set a large pot of water on to boil. Peel and devein the shrimp, slicing them in half the long way as you do so – place the knife along the length of the shrimp where you have removed the vein and cut there, as if you were going to butterfly them, but continuing all the way through. You will not end up with two short thick pieces of shrimp, in other words, but rather, two thin, long strips that will curl nicely when cooked.
A note on preparing shrimp: fresh shrimp should be firm and should not sag at all. In other words, if you grasp the tail between your thumb and forefinger, they should stick out straight, not droop limply towards the floor. I find the best way to peel and devein them is to work over the sink with a small trickle of water running. Have a bowl for the shrimp and a container for the shells, which you will reserve for another use. Grasp the tail with one hand and the body of the shrimp with the other; by pulling gently, the shell should break about half way up the shrimp’s body; you should be able to remove about two or three segments of the shell along with the tail. Then turn the shrimp over so the legs are in the air, place your thumb on the legs and your forefinger on the shrimp’s back, and peel outwards – the remaining shell should come off in one piece. Then take a paring knife and slide it gently along the shrimp’s back, just hard enough to break the skin. The vein you’re looking to remove should be there – some shrimp will have a pronounced one and some will have one that’s difficult to find. Maybe it has to do with how recently they had pooped before they were caught and killed, I don’t know. Run the shrimp under the water, either removing the vein either with your fingers or by scraping the paring knife along its length. Rinse out the channel where the vein was well, rubbing your thumb along the inside, and checking the shrimp for any segments of shell that clung to its body. Place the cleaned shrimp in a bowl (if you’re preparing it for this recipe, cut it in half first) and when you’re finished, drain the bowl and rinse several times, until the water is no longer cloudy. Most shrimp will spring water when left to sit for any time, so be cognizant of that before adding to any recipe.
Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large sauté pan until it is very hot. Add the shrimp, salt, pepper, half the red pepper flakes, and half the garlic. Sauté for about thirty seconds, stirring and tossing constantly, then add half the lemon juice. Toss to coat thoroughly and continue to cook for another thirty seconds. Remove the shrimp and any juices in the pan to a bowl and reserve.
Add the remaining TBS of olive oil, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook the shallots and remaining garlic. Do not allow the bottom of the pan, which has the shrimp juices on it, to brown too much. The shallots will not cook properly if this happens and it may burn. When the shallots and garlic are cooked through (soft but not browned), deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom and sides to incorporate. When the pan is almost a sec, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, dried herbs, and remaining red pepper flakes.
Cook for about 20 minutes, until the raw flavor of the tomatoes is gone but the sauce is still tangy and the chunks of tomatoes are still somewhat firm. While this is happening, cook the pasta.
When the pasta is finished, add the parsley, the remaining lemon juice, and the shrimp. Add the pasta to the pan, toss, and cook until the shrimp is warmed through, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
Like most fish pastas, cheese does not compliment this dish well.
The Grumpy Gastronome 
Leave a comment