Here is an easy pasta recipe with a twist. If you are a lover of shrimp, pasta and are bored of the regular variations, this linguine with shrimp and pistachio will be a welcome change.
The inspiration for this recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s book – Jamie Cooks Italy that I purchased a few months back. It has the most delicious pasta ideas, and authentic ones at that! The idea of adding crushed pistachios to the pasta really intrigued me, and that’s how I adapted that idea to make this recipe. Cherry tomatoes are also a great addition and the freshness of lime juice just elevates it to just another level.
This recipe is also super quick as shrimp hardly takes any time. Cooking the pasta till al dente in salty pasta water in one pot, and the main recipe is another. Simultaneous cooking is advised for best results.
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cook time – 30 minutes
Serves – 2 people
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
150 g linguine
10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8-10 cherry tomatoes
150 g unsalted pistachios, finely crushed in a mortar and pestle
I love cooking with wine! I love the complexity and flavors that wine can give to define some wonderful sauces. This shrimp fettuccine with white wine is one of my absolute favorite dinner recipes of all times.
This pasta is comfort food with fresh ingredients. The base of the sauce is a sweet and sour mix of lots of fresh cherry tomatoes, coupled with onions, garlic, and fresh Italian herbs for seasoning. This pasta is also that perfect recipe for your date night. I usually do not mix the cooked fettuccine with the sauce entirely. I rather enjoy mine separately as shown below. The perfect crunch of the shrimp fried in garlic butter, that glaze of the olive oil, the hint of fresh basil and thyme, oh this recipe is serious dinner goals!
Like all other kinds of pasta, here we cook the fettuccine separately with some aromatics and simultaneously prepare for a basic, yet luxurious sauce to serve with. Let’s get started!
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 30 minutes
Serves – 2
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
250g fettuccine
10 medium sized shrimps
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g ripe cherry tomatoes
150 ml white wine (Chardonnay)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper powder
7-8 Italian basil leaves, chopped
1 tbsp dried thyme (Use fresh if available)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt to taste [/ingredients]
[directions title=”Directions”]
Heat water in a pot. Add salt to it, one bay leaf and a cinnamon stick.
Cook the fettuccine in the water as per the package instructions till al dente. Reserve some of the salty pasta water in a cup to be used for cooking later.
While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil and butter in another pot. Fry the shrimps in this, three minutes each side. Set them aside.
In the same pot, saute the onions and chopped garlic for a minute. Add the cherry tomatoes to that and cook for another ten minutes till the tomatoes start to crack open.
Once the cherry tomatoes melt, let the reserved pasta water and let it simmer.
Season with salt and black pepper powder. Make sure you do not add too much salt as the fettuccine will already have it.
As the sauce gets slightly thicker, add the white wine and stir gently. At this point, add the fried prawns to the sauce.
Cook this on medium flame till the sauce reduces to a beautiful consistency.
Roughly chop some fresh basil and thyme and add to the sauce. Add the parmesan cheese to the sauce to make it thicker. If at any point you feel like the mixture is getting too thick, add some reserved salty pasta water.
Once you have your desired consistency, turn off the stove.
For plating, add some cooked fettuccine on the plate. Pour the shrimp sauce cooked in white wine on top. Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan. Serve hot.
[/directions]
There is a burst of a variety of flavors in each bite of this delicious pasta. It is tangy, sweet, cheesy, and salty, all at the same time. If you like some spice in your pasta, you can add some chili flakes to the sauce.
So cook restaurant level deliciousness in your kitchen with these fresh ingredients and surprise yourself with how easy cooking can be!
Okay, here’s the truth. This recipe actually gets ready in 15 minutes or less. Provided you cook the scampi and the pasta simultaneously of course!
What is scampi?
Scampi refers to a luxurious sauce that is made with garlic, butter, lime juice, and olive oil. This simple, yet exotic sauce is what makes everything that goes with it a clear winner! With just a handful of ingredients, scampi is a secret everyone should know when it comes to making amazing dinner recipes.
Shrimp scampi is all the more special because it has this beautiful and glazy butter garlic sauce infused into those juicy shrimps. Oh, my mouth is salivating at just the thought of it!
Follow the basic rules
I think everyone has their own version of shrimp scampi. Mine is a little different than the usual, and I have never been disappointed by it. There are some 101’s when it comes to making this extremely simple dish. while this recipe is super simple and has minimal steps, you also need to get each step right.
The garlic is the champion – Let’s start with the garlic. The most important step in this recipe is infusing the flavors of the garlic into the olive oil right in the beginning. You don’t want to burn the garlic or make it crispy in hot olive oil. You need to infuse the flavors emanating from the garlic into the olive oil. Also, olive oil does not have a very high smoking point. Caution needs to be exercised while cooking dishes with it so that the oil retains its aroma and taste. For this, I put the finely chopped garlic into the olive oil before even starting the stove, letting it cook slowly so that the garlic gets infused into the oil.
Perfectly cooked pasta – The second rule is obviously cooking the spaghetti to perfection. There is no universal rule to cook pasta right, it varies as per the product you are using. So make sure you follow the instructions in your package and cook the pasta in hot boiling water. The most common way is to cook the pasta till al dente (almost cooked, but not completely cooked) and then drain it. The rest of the cooking happens in the final pan.
NEVER overcook the shrimp – Shrimps cook super fast and overcooking them can make them chewy and hard. Here’s how you get the perfect shrimp – Always keep the tails on, because it has so much flavor! Second, wash and pat your shrimps dry with a paper towel so that there is no water on it. Third, marinate the shrimps with salt and black pepper powder and use your hands to mix it well. Last and most important – cook each side in olive and butter for 30 seconds each. That’s it!
Simultaneous cooking – The sauce needs to be prepared while you cook the pasta on the side. This will make you utilize time in the best possible way like a ninja. Oh yeah!
Should I add salt to the pasta?
Yes, yes and a million times yes. This is such a crucial step for a good plate of pasta. You do not want the sauce to have all the seasoning correct, and the actual spaghetti strands to be bland!
The reason why you need to boil pasta in salty water is that that’s the only time you are going to actually season the pasta. The spaghetti needs to have its own flavor too, and adding salt during the boiling process can give that elevated feel to your recipe.
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 15 minutes
Serves – 2
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
50 g spaghetti
200 g shrimps, tail on
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150 ml white wine
1 tbsp chili flakes
20 g butter
Juice of 1 whole lime
1 tsp black pepper powder
Finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Salt to taste [/ingredients]
[directions title=”Directions”]
Cook the spaghetti in a pot as per instructions in the package till al dente.
Prepare the sauce simultaneously. For the sauce, pour olive oil in a pot and add the garlic in it. Put it on the stove in medium flame and stir for a minute. This is done so that the garlic does not burn, but instead, its flavor gets infused into the oil.
Add the shrimps to this oil, and cook for three minutes each side.
Once the shrimps are golden brown, pour in the white wine and give it a light stir. To this sauce, add chili flakes and butter. Season with salt and black pepper powder. Let it simmer till the sauce reduces to a thick consistency.
Add some fresh parsley into the sauce and give it a light stir. Add the cooked spaghetti to this and give it a light stir.
Turn off the stove and drizzle lime juice over the pan. Give it one last toss, garnish with some more parsley and serve![/directions]
I love my shrimp scampi with loads of chili, so I add quite a lot. The number of ingredients is so limited, and hence you can adjust them depending on what flavor or taste you like best.
I hope you try this delicious shrimp scampi for yourself. This is my version and I like it this way. If you have any questions, do leave me a comment 🙂
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The first time I had spaghetti with shrimps and mushroom was in Nha Thrang, Vietnam in 2016. I was really hungry and tired of the local food by then, so went straight into a small Italian restaurant called Carlo’s. And with a lot of doubt, I ordered one spaghetti with shrimps and mushroom.
To my surprise, it tasted delicious! They made it in a creamy alfredo base and I remember going back the next day for the same order. This recipe is inspired by that meal. Though this is a very simple preparation with no cream or cheese. This is, in fact, a spicy version with hot sauce and some lime juice for the extra zesty feel.
I have used baby shrimps in this version. You can use tiger prawns as well. Here are the steps:
INGREDIENTS
PROCEDURE
For the spaghetti:
Heat water in a pan. Once it starts boiling, add 1 tbsp salt in the water. Now add the spaghetti and cook till it’s done.
For the pasta (Follow these steps while the spaghetti is cooking):
Heat olive oil in a pan.
Add the crushed garlic and fry for a minute.
Throw in the baby shrimps and fry till they are semi-cooked.
Next, add the mushrooms and fry till done.
While the mushroom and shrimps cook together, add 1 tbsp hot sauce or Sschezwan sauce and mix well.
Add some salty pasta water from the boiling spaghetti pan to this and stir.
Transfer the cooked spaghetti to this pan and mix it well with the rest of the ingredients.
Season the pasta with black pepper powder.
The last step – add the lime juice and mix it all up.
Your spicy shrimp spaghetti with mushroom is ready!
