Name: Triple Shrimp Trighetto Pasta (Creamy Shrimp Pasta)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 9-12 shrimp, heads-on, shells removed, deveined, washed, and patted dry (187g); 1 cup (7 ounces) Mutti finely chopped canned tomatoes (or other San Marzano canned tomatoes) (200g); 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided in half (56g); 1 small garlic clove (3g); 1 medium shallot (15 g); 12 grape tomatoes or other sweet Roma tomatoes (85 g); 5.5-6 ounces Trighetto or Spaghetti pasta noodles (160g); salt to taste; crushed red pepper (optional)

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This shrimp pasta is delicious and quick to make! It takes less than 30 minutes to pull off from start to finish. And it only uses 7 ingredients (not counting salt of course). Fresh sweet Datterino tomatoes, plump local Mediterranean shrimp, and a new pasta shape make this a new pasta recipe the whole family can enjoy.

shrimp pasta with triangular trighetto spaghetti

What is Trighetto Pasta?

Trighetto is a triangular-shaped long pasta noodle similar to a spaghetti noodle, but with angles and 3 flat surfaces. It’s made by Molisana which is a pasta manufacturer located in Campobasso, Italy (near Abruzzo founded in 1912). This shrimp pasta recipe was loosely based on Mama A’s “Pasta alla Gamberi” (pasta with shrimp). She makes this pasta about once or twice a month and it’s so delicate and good. This is a much “shimpier” version of her shrimp pasta. As with any pasta or pasta sauce, feel free to substitute spaghetti, tagliatelle, fettuccine, or pasta alla chitara if that’s what you’ve already got on hand. Then just add some freshly sliced (very) sweet tomatoes, some local (or quality frozen) shrimp, garlic, and shallots.

Triple Shrimp Trighetto Pasta Ingredients

9-12 shrimp, heads-on, shells removed, deveined, washed, and patted dry (187g)
1 cup (7 ounces) Mutti finely chopped canned tomatoes (or other San Marzano canned tomatoes) (200g)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided in half (56g)
1 small garlic clove (3g)
1 medium shallot (15 g)
12 grape tomatoes or other sweet Roma tomatoes (85 g)
5.5-6 ounces Trighetto or Spaghetti pasta noodles (160g)
salt to taste
crushed red pepper (optional)

closeup of the shrimp pasta with large shrimp covered in a shrimp and tomato sauce

a bit of shrimp pasta twirled around a fork

How to Make Triple Shrimp Trighetto Pasta (Creamy Shrimp Pasta)

Blister the garlic and flavor the oil with shrimp heads + shells. Cook the garlic clove for 1 to 2 minutes in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until slightly blistered and remove. Add shrimp shells and heads and sauté until they turn red in color and are cooked through, pushing on them with the back of a spoon to release their juices and any meat still left inside the shells.
Extract the juice from the shrimp heads + shells. Once all of the shells are pink and cooked through, turn off the heat, remove the heads/shells from the pot and place a sieve (fine mesh strainer) on top of this same cooking pot. Place the shrimp shells into a potato ricer in batches and squeeze to extract the remaining juices and oils left inside the shells allowing the juices to run into the cooking pot directly over the fine mesh strainer to catch any shells or pieces.. *see photos below.
Sauté the shallots and canned tomatoes. Once you’ve extracted all of the remaining juices, add the chopped shallot to the pan and turn the heat on to medium and cook the shallots for a few minutes until translucent and soft, add in the canned tomatoes and red pepper flakes (optional) and continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and is slightly thickened.
Sauté the fresh tomatoes. Next, add the chopped fresh tomatoes, add salt to taste, and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes more, or until the mixture is somewhat reduced and the tomatoes are slightly cooked but still bright in color.
Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, place the pasta into boiling (lightly salted) water and cook to “al dente” according to the package directions.
Cook the shrimp + finish the sauce. When there are about 6 minutes left for the pasta to be finished cooking, add the shrimp to the sauce in a single layer and cook for about 4 minutes, or until opaque. Using a spoon or a ladle, add about 1/4 cup (45-60g) of starchy pasta cooking water to the shrimp sauce and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Assemble the pasta. Add the strained pasta directly to the shrimp sauce, turning to coat and flavor the pasta noodles well and serve immediately and, Enjoy!

a beautiful serving of triple shrimp trighetto pasta

a gold, orange, pink, and turquoise sky in Venice near the water's edge with people dining in the distance as the sun goes down — near the water’s edge as the sun sets – Venice, Italy

A few considerations when you’re planning a trip to Venice

At the Pescheria Market near the Rialto Bridge, Fishermen dock their boats right up next to it, and “the day’s catch” gets unloaded. All the fish and seafood are wheeled over to the individual seller’s stalls where it’s put on ice and sold until it’s all gone. All of this has been going on since the year 1097. Venice is an amazing and historic city to visit and yes, the touristy things can be fun and exciting the first time you go too. But there’s a lot more to this ancient city than getting your photo taken in a gondola or buying a Venetian mask (even though those things help the local economy♡). It’s definitely one of our favorite cities mostly because it’s a little bit magic. No matter how many times we go, it still makes us really happy to be here.

Where to Eat on Your Next Trip To Venice – Buyer Beware, It’s Full of Magic + Plenty of Deceit

When you visit Venice, please support the local businesses owned and run by local Venetians first. Because they’re the reason why we still have this beautiful city to visit. Buy real Venetian masks and other souvenirs that are actually made in Venice (not elsewhere). Take a ride on a gondola to support the Gondoliers and get that iconic photo if you want because it helps support the local economy even if it’s really touristy and really cheesy.♡ Buy some glass jewelry or a piece of local art that will remind you of your visit when you’re back home. Pick up some handmade stationery and notecards to send to the people you love the most and maybe inspire them to visit as well.

Above all, when wandering around Venice, make your bellies happy by eating at local trattorias and restaurants with real chefs earning a living wage are cooking passionately so you can taste the history and tradition of this beautiful city. These restaurants are becoming fewer and fewer in numbers by the day instead, being replaced by food swindlers (that’s what I like to call them anyway) — the places near all the tourist attractions with leather-bound menus, or menus in English with photos of the dish to match. Or the places where someone is out front inviting you in (or worse, singing) and where you’ll spot those silly bottles of chianti that have nothing to do with Venetian cooking or cuisine. Do not eat at these places. These places are not serving real Venetian food, and in most cases, it can’t even be considered real Italian food, or even good.

Seek out real kitchens where real Venetians are cooking or they have properly trained the next generation of cooks. You will not be disappointed if you do. Venice can be the worst of all tourist traps with plenty of frozen food reheated and served up with a smile just waiting to take as much of your money as they can get. But when you plan ahead, you can really avoid getting taken advantage of. Do your research and always call ahead when you can and get a reservation. Even if it’s a Tuesday night. Eat local specialties, made by actual locals, and savor every last minute of it because you’ll never have anything like it again (unless of course, you come back…and I really hope that you will♡). To give you a little head start, here are just a few of our favorite restaurants to eat at on your next trip to Venice.

Cantina Do Spade
Paradiso Perduto
Bar all’Arco (no website)

a strange blue hued photo in natural light walking over a bridge looking into a large glass window of a man making pizza — Pizzeria – Venice, Italy

local Venetian boat docked to the side — a boat docked in the canal – Venice, Italy

How to Cook Pasta Like a Pro Every Time

If you’ve eaten a forkful of pasta at your favorite restaurant you may have wondered why it can sometimes be so much richer and velvety (even tastier) than the stuff you make at home. Restaurants typically use more fat (and sometimes dairy) than you’d ever imagine cooking with at home. And one of the biggest differences between your spaghetti and theirs mostly comes down to cooking techniques and the quality of ingredients used. In order to bring out the best texture, flavor, and maximum pasta goodness, follow the guidelines below.

Don’t pre-cook your pasta noodles. In most cases, try to time the pasta so that the sauce is ready just before (or well in advance of) the noodles and not the other way around.
Add starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce. Just before the noodles are finished cooking to “al dente” doneness, add a little starchy water to the sauce and stir.
Don’t over-salt the cooking water. If the pasta cooking water is too salty, it’ll make your final sauce too salty when it gets added. Alternatively, if the pasta water is not salty enough, the noodles will be bland.
Cook the pasta directly in the sauce at the end and toss. When you can, it’s good to finish cooking the noodles directly in the sauce for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. But this is not a technique to be used when making Pasta alla Carbonara because egg yolks are involved.
Don’t add any cheese while the sauce is boiling, simmering, or otherwise cooking. Adding grated cheese to a pasta sauce while it’s cooking, causes the cheese to separate and become stringy. The fat in the cheese will separate leaving the sauce oily. Instead, remove the sauce or pasta from the heat and add the cheese after 15-20 seconds. Alternatively, in some recipes, you may serve the grated cheese at the table instead of adding it directly to the pasta.
Skip the dairy. Butter and cream aren’t necessary to create a smooth velvety texture to pasta, although in the right amounts and in the right sauce the addition can be delicious. If you’re using dairy to enhance the flavor, go for it, but if you’re just trying to create a better mouthfeel, use the techniques above and you can’t go wrong.
If the sauce is tomato-based use Mutti brand tomatoes (or the best San Marzano DOP tomatoes). My recommended canned tomato brand to use for all your tomato-based pasta sauces is Mutti. These are the best 100% Italian (non-GMO, no additives or preservatives added), tomatoes from near and around Parma, Italy. These tomatoes are available in the US (and other global markets including China. In Italy, if your family doesn’t grow and can their own tomatoes, or buy them from a local producer, Mutti is a staple found in just about every cupboard here. The reason is simple. These tomatoes are delicious with intense real tomato flavor. We have access to an abundant variety of high-quality canned San Marzano DOP tomatoes that we love and buy, but we still always keep Mutti on hand. They’re consistently great-tasting. This is important when I’m developing and sharing recipes. I want the Biting audience to have the best possible results when replicating a dish at home. Using a consistent brand that’s available to me and you make the most sense. I’m not paid by Mutti. for the endorsement. They are just one of the best brands out there, and using them absolutely will make all the difference in your homemade pasta or pizza sauce.
- What are the top 5 Italian Pasta dishes of all time? In my opinion, it’s impossible there are only 5 pastas that are the best, but if I were forced to decide, it could be any of these: Ragù alla Bolognese (with rigatoni, pappardelle or any other appropriate noodle), Pesto alla Genovese, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Spaghetti or Bucatini all’Amatriciana, Spaghetti or Linguine alle Vongole, and Bigoli all’Anatra. I could name 20 more, but these offer a wide variety and are a great place to start.

Let’s get started!