Description
20-Minute Shrimp alfredo pasta is made with sautéed garlic shrimp, tossed in a Parmigiano-Reggiano cream sauce with chewy ribbons of Italian egg pasta. It's a restaurant-quality pasta alfredo recipe that's delicious, simple to make, and won't leave you feeling like you need to take a nap.
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds Argentinian Red shrimp (or other sweet shrimp), deveined with tails attached, patted dry (500g to 1kg)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (30g)
4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thinly (12g)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60g)
8 ounces (1 cup) heavy cream (240g)
2/3 cup (6 ounces) Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, grated (170g)
2 scallions, finely diced (optional but recommended)
4 sweet grape tomatoes, finely diced (55g) (optional but recommended)
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
fresh flatleaf parsley, finely minced, to taste (optional)
11 ounces pasta (320g) (this is the typical 80g per person pasta portion served in Italy and what we always make)
Instructions
- Clean the shrimp. Remove the shells from the shrimp leaving only the tail attached and devein. Pat the shrimp dry and place them on a plate while you prepare the garlic-infused olive oil.
- Heat the pasta cooking water. Bring a lightly salted pot of water to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.
- Infuse the olive oil. Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold cast-iron or another heavy-gauge skillet and increase heat to medium. Sauté the garlic until just perfectly golden brown and fragrant and remove the garlic from the pan and reserve (You may want to add this back to your Alfredo sauce if you really love lots of garlic, but I do not).
- Sear the shrimp. Increase the heat to medium-high heat and just before the skillet begins to smoke, add the shrimp in one single layer (avoid overcrowding the pan) and sprinkle them with salt to taste. Do not move them once they hit the hot skillet. Let the shrimp cook for about 2 minutes, or until they turn reddish-orange and have a golden sear. Flip them over being sure not to move them around and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, until just opaque and cooked through. Remove from the skillet while you build the Alfredo sauce.
- Sautée the scallions. Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter, and allow it to melt while using a coil or other flat whisk or wooden spatula to scrape up the browned bits (shrimp fond) from the pan. Add the scallions and cook for just about 2 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- Add the cream and grated cheese. Add the heavy cream, and crushed red pepper flakes, and cook, whisking the mixture periodically for about 5 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and become a bit thicker. At about the 5-minute mark, the cream will start to show bubbles forming. At this point, turn the heat off, wait about 30 seconds and add the grated cheese while whisking vigorously to emulsify the two mixtures until you have a silky smooth sauce cohesive sauce. Adjust the seasonings with salt and freshly cracked black pepper (if using).
- Add the tomatoes and shrimp. Add finely diced tomatoes and shrimp tossing everything together to fully coat the shrimp. Set aside while the pasta finishes cooking.
- Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente doneness according to the package directions reserving a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to add to the Alfredo sauce. Note, fresh egg pasta cooks in just 30 seconds to 3 minutes, dried egg pasta cooks in just 5 minutes, regular semolina (non-egg) pasta cooks anywhere between 9-12 minutes. Be sure to consider the cook times associated with the pasta you are using.
- Finish the sauce and assemble the dish. During the last 2 minutes of pasta cooking time, add a couple (or three) spoonfuls of the starchy pasta water directly into the sauce and whisk to incorporate. Strain the pasta and immediately add it to the sauce and toss to combine everything well. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped parsley if desired and Enjoy!
Notes
*See all detailed techniques and tips within the main post, but here are a few to get you started.
- Slice the garlic instead of finely mincing or pressing which allows it to infuse the olive oil but keeps it from burning. Slicing it paper-thin allows you to quickly impart a lot of garlic flavor into the olive oil and makes it easier to remove it from the skillet before turning up the heat to cook the shrimp. Burnt garlic can ruin a dish.
- If you want even more garlicky flavor in your sauce, add the toasted fried garlic back to the skillet after you've added the cream and continue with the recipe.
- If you want to add a bit of white wine to the Alfredo sauce, add approximately 1-2 tablespoons (14-28g) of dry white wine to the pan after the scallions have cooked for about 2 minutes and before you add the cream. Allow the wine to cook for about 3 minutes while you whisk to de-glaze the pan and pick up all of those delicious shrimp bits from the bottom of the pan. This will unlock even more flavor and allow the wine to partially evaporate.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the dish
- Calories: 1021
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 870mg
- Fat: 55g
- Saturated Fat: 30g
- Unsaturated Fat: 25g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 65g
- Fiber: 2.7g
- Protein: 67g
- Cholesterol: 520mg
