Spaghetti with Shrimp in Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti covered in a super creamy sauce. The sauce is fine, delicately aromatic and infused with the sweet aroma of shrimp.
I used my cappuccino cup again to control the pasta portion, as I do whenever I know the ingredients are substantial.
Ingredients
250g long pasta (spaghetti)
25-30 raw shrimp
125ml olive oil (for infusing)
2 tablespoons olive oil (for sauteing)
1 can of tomatoes (400g)
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon chili flakes
25g bread crumbs
salt, black pepper
Servings: 3
How to prepare spaghetti with shrimp in tomato sauce
- Clean the shrimp of heads and shells from the body. Discard the heads but keep the shells from the body and tails.
- In a large pan heat the olive oil (125ml) and add the body shells. Fry until they completely change color to pink and then another 2 minutes, stirring often. Put the entire contents of the pan in a blender and blend. Then strain through a fine sieve (tea strainer works), pressing on the shell pieces to extract as much oil as possible. You will get about 75ml of infused oil.
Leave the pan used for frying the shells as is, do not clean it, you will need it again. - In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the cleaned shrimp and saute briefly just until they turn pink all over. Do not let them cook more, they will finish in the tomato sauce. Remove the shrimp and keep them until needed.
- Add the crushed garlic and saute briefly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the oregano, chili (use only 1/4 teaspoon if you want it only slightly spicy) and fennel. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes (without their juice) crushed with a fork, sprinkle salt and grind black pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often until the tomatoes caramelize slightly (about 10-15 minutes).
- Add the tomato juice and 1/2 cup water, the bread torn into pieces and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
- Blend the sauce in a blender and after it is very fine, pour the infused oil (from step 2) in a thin stream while continuously blending. The sauce will thicken slightly, becoming creamy. Taste for salt.
- The shrimp and sauce can be prepared ahead and kept like this (in the refrigerator for longer periods) until serving time.
- When you want to serve the pasta, put a pot with plenty of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- In the pan where you fried the shells, add the remaining 3 crushed garlic cloves and saute for 1 minute over low heat. Add the shrimp and saute just until they warm up. Pour the tomato sauce over them and bring to a boil.
- Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Stir constantly while the sauce simmers until the pasta is well coated.
* if desired, you can add a handful of arugula to the sauce together with the pasta - They are good immediately while warm, but are also great at room temperature, good for packing to go.
