Spicy Creamy Shrimp Pasta - Ala Chef Lea Ann

Pat almost never asks us to cook a special dish for her so when she requested SpicyCreamy Shrimp Pasta from Lea Ann’s Cooking On The Ranch blog, we said you bet, especially since it’s from Lea Ann and it’s shrimp and it's pasta.  Be sure to check her site for the original recipe and some great shots of her dish.

This request presented another surprise – Pat reads blogs – I need to asked her if she ever reads mine.  I reproduced the recipe here as I changed it just a little for our diverse palates.

Spicy Creamy Shrimp Pasta – Slightly adapted from Cooking On The Ranch

Ingredients:

1 pound Spaghetti

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided

¼ cup hot water from cooked pasta

½ small onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (down from 1 tsp)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined – see note

½ cup dry white wine, room temperature

2 cups heavy cream room temperature

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 cup fresh parsley leaves chopped (I didn’t have any)

½ cup Parmesan cheese grated

Note: Since I was using really big Royal Red Shrimp, I removed the tails and halved all but three of them lengthwise to have them spread throughout the pasta more.  They cooked up into a nice spiral shape.

Instructions: I changed the cooking order

1. In a large sauté pan, heat 1/8 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. 

2. Add the garlic, paprika, cayenne, thyme, and salt. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.

3. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Reduce heat to medium low, add the cream, cooking and stirring occasionally until slightly reduced. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, cover and keep warm.
4. When the sauce is about done, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the 1/8 cup olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.

5. In the meantime, toss the shrimp with some additional paprika. Heat 1/8 cup oil in a pan and cook for 1 - 2 minutes per side. Set aside, cover and keep warm.

6. Add the cooked pasta to the cream mixture and toss to coat. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan Cheese. 

7. Stir in the halved shrimp into the pasta mixture, reserving the whole ones to garnish. 
8. Serve with more grated Parmesan, small pieces of parsley and red pepper flakes on the side so everyone could get the heat they wanted.

First of all, I could have gone up to ½ tsp of cayenne and been just right for the low heat eaters but it worked well to let everyone get the heat level they wanted.  While the dish used three pans, it was still easy to put together and I tried to time everything such that it was all done about the same time so nothing really cooled much.  I believe I will use 16-20 count shrimp for the dish next time and leave them whole.

Now for the verdict – Pat said it was really good (high praise from her); Cindy said it was sooo good; Bev said it was delicious, got seconds, and said we should eat it on a regular basis; and I thought it was outstanding and agree with Bev’s “on a regular basis” comment.  She even commented again that it was delicious while I was typing this later that evening, so Chef Lea Ann, we are sending you a big thanks for a great supper.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/24/18 Meal Date