Pasta with Shrimp

Ingredients

• 300 g Spaghetti (weight before cooking; tagliatelle, penne, or linguine can also be used)
• 500 g Shrimp (large, fresh or frozen; clean and pat dry if they require preparation)
• 100 ml Heavy cream (30% or 36% fat)
• 40 g Butter (preferably clarified)
• 3 tbsp Olive oil (good quality)
• 40 g Onion (thinly sliced; small shallots are best)
• 2.5 Garlic (2–3 cloves, approximately 10–15 g; peeled and thinly sliced)
• 2.5 tbsp Lime or lemon juice (freshly squeezed; 2–3 tbsp)
• 1 Parsley or cilantro (a generous handful, freshly chopped)
• 0.5 tsp Salt (½ level tsp for the shrimp; additionally, 1 tsp of salt is needed for the pasta water)
• Chili flakes (a generous pinch, dried)
• Pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
• 3 L Water (for cooking the pasta)

Steps

1. 1

   If using fresh, uncleaned shrimp, remove the legs, shells, and tails if necessary. Carefully make a shallow cut along the back and remove the dark vein, then rinse the shrimp with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Thaw frozen shrimp naturally, drain off any glaze, and pat dry; check raw frozen shrimp and clean them if necessary. For faster thawing, place them in a bowl of slightly warm water.

2. 2

   Bring 3 L of water to a boil in a large pot. Once it boils, add 1 tsp of salt, followed by the pasta.

3. 3

   Cook the pasta until al dente. Once it has softened enough to become fully submerged, stir it. The pasta should be springy and should not break when wrapped around your finger; the author usually cooks spaghetti for 1 minute longer than the time stated by the manufacturer.

4. 4

   Drain the pasta and immediately transfer it to the pan with the shrimp once the sauce is ready; if the sauce is not ready yet, return the pasta to the pot. You can reserve some of the cooking water to add to the sauce later.

5. 5

   Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add the olive oil and clarified butter.

6. 6

   Add the thinly sliced onion to the hot fat and sauté it in the pan.

7. 7

   Add the peeled, thinly sliced garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.

8. 8

   Add the shrimp, increase the heat, then sprinkle in the chili flakes and ½ level tsp of salt.

9. 9

   Squeeze the lime or lemon juice over the shrimp and stir the contents of the pan. Raw shrimp will change color from gray to white and pink.

10. 10

    Reduce the heat to below medium. Pour in the cream, stirring the shrimp gently all the time.

11. 11

    Immediately add the chopped parsley or cilantro and stir. Once the sauce comes to a boil, wait approximately 10–20 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat.

12. 12

    Add the freshly cooked pasta to the hot shrimp and sauce, and toss thoroughly to coat it with the sauce.

13. 13

    Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, taste, and season if needed. Serve immediately. You can garnish with additional parsley or cilantro, lemon or lime half-slices, chili flakes or fresh chili, or grated Parmesan.

Notes

The pasta water is specified in the method: 3 L. The method instructs you to salt it with 1 tsp of salt; this amount is additional to the ½ tsp listed among the ingredients. You can add up to twice as much cream to obtain more sauce with a milder flavor. The suggested garnishes and Parmesan are optional; the source does not provide quantities for them. Reserve some pasta cooking water if you want to increase the amount of sauce.

Nutrition per serving

• lunch
• dinner
• main course
• pasta
• seafood
• shrimp
• quick
• creamy