Spaghetti with Shrimp
Shrimp are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. The mild flavor works with a ton of different foods, and I also really love the firm, but tender texture of shrimp – provided they are cooked right. In this video, I show you how you to make a pretty simple recipe that is quick to make, but don’t right, it tastes really great – Shrimp with Spaghetti. Of course, there are all kinds of ways to put a different spin on this dish, with different herbs, vegetables, and spices, but for all of those you need to know some of the core techniques to make it come out right. Here I’ll show you those core techniques and once you got them down, you can be sure your version will come out great every time. Hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
- The cardinal rule of any shrimp recipe is to not overcook the shrimp. As they overcook, they dry out, and become rubbery…which is just plain bad. In this recipe video, I show you how to cook them off separately from the other ingredients to ensure they are just cooked through, flavorful and delicious.
- I really like the garlic is this dish, and don’t want you skimp on it. Both the spaghetti and the shrimp have mild flavors, that can stand to be punched up with fresh garlic flavor
- Of course, don’t forgot to season with salt and pepper, taste and reseason if needed
- Finally, you also need to make sure that you don’t overcook the spaghetti. You want a nice al dente on the spaghetti…simply because mushy pasta is gross
RECIPE FOR SHRIMP SPAGHETTI
Ingredients for Shrimp Spaghetti (for 2)- 1/3 lbs spaghetti
- 12 – 15 shrimp
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 large diced shallot
- One lemon
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup of white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Olive oil
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and add the spaghetti. Stir every few minutes to prevent it sticking together
- At the same time the water is coming to a boil, season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and bring a sauté pan up to temperature over high heat
- Sear the shrimp off quickly in the sauté pan with olive oil. They should only take about 30 seconds per side.
- Pull the shrimp aside to a holding plate and turn the heat on the sauté pan to medium
- Add more oil to the pan if needed, then add the shallot, garlic and a couple pinches of red pepper flakes, and sauté over medium heat until soft (if they start turning brown, quickly add some water to the pan to cool it off…you don’t want browned garlic for this recipe)
- Once soft, add the wine to deglaze the pan, and let it reduce by half (lowering the heat at that point if the spaghetti is not yet cooked), add a squeeze of the lemon juice – about a tablespoon
- Drain the spaghetti and add it to the sauté pan, season with salt and pepper, and toss together over high heat for 3 – 4 minutes
- Turn the heat back to low, and add the shrimp to the spaghetti, along with the parsley, and the butter
- Again toss for 2 – 3 minutes and then taste the spaghetti. Reseason with salt and pepper if needed
I like a nice acidic white wine with this dish, and one that has some fruit notes that will help offset the garlicky flavors. I recommend a California Sauvignon Blanc, which typically have low alcohol with a good amount of acid and floral notes.
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