Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Needed to use up some shrimp. So…

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • ¾ pound thin spaghetti, broken in half
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ red onion, chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (Calabrian or Aleppo pepper flakes if you've got 'em)
  • ¾ cup dry white wine
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Handful of chopped cilantro or Italian parsley
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped (like 1 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • Kosher Salt
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 9-11 minutes or whatever the package says. Drain, reserving a bit of the water.
  • While the pasta is cooking, prep everything else — In one bowl add the chopped onion, garlic, oregano, and black and red pepper. In another bowl add the chopped tomatoes and the parsley/cilantro. Measure out the wine, zest and juice the lemon.
  • Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the shrimp and cook until done. (Depending on the size of the shrimp this could be 1 minute, could be 4 or 5. I had 41-50-size shrimp so it didn't take long at all.)
  • Remove the shrimp to a bowl.
  • Add a little more olive oil if needed and reduce heat to medium low.
  • Add the garlic, onion, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
  • Add the wine and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add the lemon zest and lemon juice.
  • Add the parsley/cilantro and the tomatoes and toss to coat for a minute or so.
  • Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Almost certainly going to need to add some Kosher Salt. Cook longer if it's still tasting winey.
  • Add the pasta into the pan and stir/toss to coat.
  • Add the shrimp and warm up, maybe 30 seconds.
  • Add the capers, remove from heat, and serve with Parmesan cheese and more pepper flakes if desired.

Notes

  • I used cilantro (sometimes called Chinese Parsley) because it’s what I had, but I imagine Italian Parsley would be good, too.
  • I used a thin spaghetti but imagine you could use a rotini or farfalle.  Not sure about a shell or a tube.