Last week we were with Bryan's family for Thanksgiving. We got back to the city on Sunday and spent most of the day cleaning up, so we didn't have time to plan dinner for the week. Monday at work we realized we didn't know what we were going to do for dinner, so we improvised.
Bryan works near New York's Eataly and wandered in to see what looked appealing. The basil smelled fantastic, even though it's not really in season, so he grabbed a handful. They had just received an order of fresh local shrimp, so he grabbed a half pound of that. And then of course the hand made pasta started calling. A fresh bunch of beautiful thick and chewy chitarra cut pasta. Dinner was ready.
Making the Dish
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| All the ingredients |
This is a quick one which you can make with just a few ingredients. No need for fresh pasta if you can't find it, although if you can, grab it. With so few ingredients, you'll want them all to be excellent.
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| Fresh basil... mmmmm delicious |
Start by sautéing some garlic with a teaspoon of crushed chile (if you want) in olive oil. Let it simmer but not burn - the point is just to infuse the flavor into the oil.
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| Sautéing the garlic and chile flakes |
Once the garlic has cooked just long enough, toss in the tomato paste. Stir together and cook until the tomato paste takes on a somewhat rusty color.
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| Cooking the tomato paste with the garlic and chile |
When the tomato paste has cooked a bit, add in the shrimp. Toss it together and let it cook slightly - although not entirely since it will continue cooking throughout and you don't want it to overcook.
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| Adding the shrimp |
Then, when the shrimp is a little pink, add in about a half cup of white wine. Stir together and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
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| Shrimp sautéeing with tomato paste and a bit of wine. |
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| Adding in the spaghetti to the shrimp sauce |
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| Pepper |
Add more water if it needs it, and cook until the pasta reaches your desired consistency. Then add the sliced basil, toss, and serve! That's it!
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| Tossing in the basil |
The Result
This was a fantastic dish to look at and every better to eat. The fresh pasta was nice and chewy, the sauce light and flavorful. The sweetness of the basil worked perfectly with the shrimp.
This is a perfect weeknight dinner when you just need something fast and easy. Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Click through for the full ingredients list!
Chitarra Cut Spaghetti with Basil and Shrimp
Written by: Herbie Likes Spaghetti
Quick easy, and simply delicious
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
(Serves: 2)
1/2 lb chitarra cut spaghetti (or thick spaghetti)
1/2 lb fresh shrimp peeled & deveined
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup freshly sliced basil
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp crushed chile flakes
made this last night - was delicious. Quick, easy, cheap and spicy!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it! Quick, easy, cheap, and spicy is kind of what we do around here :)
DeleteI made this dish last night and, sorry to say, but it didn't go as planned. I ended up having to add the wine before the shrimp to get the tomato paste thin enough to coat but not burn. I'm thinking that the amount of olive oil you used to sauté the garlic and chili flakes may have had something to do with you being able to add the wine after the shrimp had partially cook. Do you remember how much Olive oil you used? If so, please let me know; I'd like to try making this again as the flavors came out great!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that holley! We usually use about 2 - 3 tbsp of olive oil for sauteeing. The other thing is that if you're burning the tomato paste and garlic, you've probably got the heat up too high. It should be on low to medium to let the garlic cook as long as possible without browning to extract maximum flavor.
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