Spicy Shrimp with Fettuccine and a White Wine Sauce

Spicy Shrimp with Fettuccine and a White Wine Sauce

This one is a treat! If you have some time on your hands and some fast-paced kitchen skills, this recipe isn't too hard. One time I made this one I almost burnt down my kitchen and my arm. I wasn't paying attention and left my burner too hot for too long before putting oil in. The oil jumped back out of the pan onto my arm (and all over my cookbook, but I think the sign of a good cook is a messy cookbook). And since this recipe calls for your oven rack to be super close to the broiler, I got my nice white towel a little too close as I put the shrimp in and now it has a nice singe mark across the top. My smoke alarm (which is up a flight of stairs in my bedroom) started to go off and I was basically a crazy person running around my apartment with alarms going off and oil burning my arm.

But the result was fantastic so I think it was worth it :)

This recipe is a combination of two recipes from the America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. They guard their recipes like they're gold (which most of them are) so I have adjusted the recipes just a little bit. The first is Broiled Shrimp Cocktail [the original recipe makes this with a Creamy Tarragon Sauce, but since I'm using the shrimp in pasta, I won't make the sauce], and the second is Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine (I use Fettuccine and replaced this shrimp recipe with the first one).

Double the recipe if you're making for more than one person - this one got me two small meals.

The recipe:

Shrimp:

1/2 pound large shrimp, uncooked, peeled, and deveined

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground coriander

A pinch of pepper [less than 1/8 tsp]

A pinch of sugar [less than 1/8 tsp]

A pinch of cayenne [less than 1/8 tsp]

A pinch of crushed red pepper [less than 1/8 tsp]

1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Sauce:

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio was a bit too sweet so I tried Chardonnay and it was much better!)

1/4 tsp sugar (I would omit this next time I made it - too sweet for me!)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you don't like too much spice)

Pasta:

Fettuccine - as much as you want to make, I used a handful about half an inch in diameter.

Salt

Boil some water for your pasta and cook according to box directions. Add salt to the boiling water to flavor the pasta. 

To prepare the shrimp: peel the shrimp by pulling off the outer shell, starting at the head, and pull the tail off by pinching at the top of the tail and pulling straight down. I've never deveined shrimp so if you're doing that yourself, Google is a better source than me. Lay on paper towel and pat dry. Combine salt, coriander, pepper, sugar, and cayenne into a small bowl. Add shrimp, then oil and toss with your hands until all shrimp have an even coating. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to cook them. (They cook REALLY fast so save it for the end).

For the sauce: heat up oil in large skillet over low heat and add garlic until garlic foams and is sticky and straw-colored. Stir in tomatoes, wine, [sugar], salt, and pepper flakes. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. When I made this with Chardonnay, it was very good! I used Quinton estates 2012, from Brennans Market (and drank some while cooking!). Your sauce will be thick enough when you can run your spoon across the skillet and see the bottom of your pan.

If your pasta is almost done and you've started simmering your sauce, cook the shrimp. Adjust your top oven rack so that it's 3 inches from the broiler and turn broiler on to high. If your top rack doesn't get that high, place a rimmed baking sheet upside down on your oven rack to get it closer. Spread shrimp in a single layer on baking sheet (line with aluminum foil if you don't want to wash it). Broil shrimp until opaque and edges begin to brown. The original recipe says 6 minutes, but I've found that they finish up in about 4 minutes. These shrimp are so tasty that I never get all of them to the plate... They're so good to just eat as a snack! Especially if you like drinking wine while you cook, it's a nice combination.

After everything is done, combine pasta and shrimp into skillet with sauce and stir until just combined. Transfer to bowl and serve. I think I'm going to make this one tonight, so I'll post pictures later if I don't burn down my apartment!(Update: this went much smoother this time and nothing burned)