Every now and then a recipe comes along that truly deserves a 5+ rating in our book and the Orecchiette with Spicy Shrimp Sauce is that recipe.
Last night we decided to do something different. We wanted to find an interesting recipe,
adding a little of this that we like and adding a little bit of that.
Making it all our way.
When the dish was finally done, we took one bite, and then another.
We simply couldn’t believe how good it was.
How we discovered the spicy shrimp dish
It all started with us wanting to have shrimp for dinner. We didn’t want to make Barbecued Shrimp and Grits.
And so the challenge began, to find an interesting way to prepare the shrimp. Making it in a way we hadn’t made shrimp before.
We wanted something different, but not some recipe that would take ingredients we didn’t have on hand, or a recipe that would take a lot of time and effort.
We were certain of two things: we wanted a spicy shrimp recipe, and we wanted to use orecchiette.
You see, we like orecchiette so much. we ordered a box of five from Amazon. For some reason, we were having a difficult time finding the pasta so I go to where I always go to find things Amazon. The shipping was free for Prime members.
Preparing the spicy shrimp
We peeled the shrimp, deveined them, and cut them in half lengthwise. Then we chopped the fennel bulb and saved some of the fennel fronds to add to the dish.
We picked the basil from our prolific plants.
At the last minute, we decided to use our deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes.
It was a good call, the sweet acid of the tomatoes added to the overall flavor of this healthy pasta dish.
We had all the ingredients ready to toss in the pan because the Spicy Shrimp Sauce was going to go fast once the orecchiette cooked.
The minute we plated the Orecchiette with Spicy Shrimp we were ready to sit and dine on our mouth-watering meal.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
Orecchiette with Spicy Shrimp Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces orecchiette pasta
- Kosher salt for pasta water and sauce
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1 small fennel bulb chopped, plus 1 Tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp peeled, deveined and sliced lengthwise.
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
- 1 cup torn fresh basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs.
- Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the salted cooking water, then drain and set pasta aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped fennel bulb and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, tomato paste and red pepper flakes.
- Cook, stirring, 2 more minutes ( add a splash of the pasta water if the mixture is sticking).
- Stir in the tomato, shrimp, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 cup of reserved cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are saucy, about 6 more minutes.
- Add the pasta and cheese to the sauce and toss to coat. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and more of the reserved pasta water to loosen, if necessary. Stir in the basil leaves and fennel fronds.
- Plate, serve and enjoy.
Notes
- We chopped the fennel bulb in the food processor. This made it quick and easy.
Nutrition
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