Shrimp Fra Diavolo

This pasta dish has become one of my favorite go-to pasta dishes. It is surprisingly easy to make and has the perfect amount of heat. I use a combination of diced tomatoes and marinara sauce to create the perfect sauce that has a great texture and just lightly coats the pasta. The ingredient list is relatively short and the dish comes together in just about 30 minutes! The recipe does call for wine, but if you don’t want to open a bottle then you can use the juice of ½ a lemon and ¾ cup of water and you will get very similar results. I typically have a bag of Trader Joe’s frozen uncooked shrimp in the freezer and I think it works perfectly for this dish. Most “fresh” shrimp you buy at the grocery store has been frozen at some point and the TJ’s shrimp are super easy to thaw and a great price. I also was really excited to use the pappardelle from Scratch Pasta Co, a company based in my hometown of Lynchburg, VA! It did not disappoint and definitely recommend picking some up if you are in the area. I cannot recommend this recipe enough so give it a try!

Makes 4 large bowls of pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound of frozen Shrimp (thaw by letting sit in cold water for 30 minutes)

½ large White Onion, diced

1 pound of Linguine (or your favorite type of pasta, preferably a long pasta!)

8 cloves of Garlic

1 can of Diced Tomatoes

1 cup of Marinara Sauce (I use Rao’s)

1 cup of White Wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc bc I like drinking it! Would NOT recommend Chardonnay)

1 tsp of Sugar (not completely necessary but helps to mellow the acidity)

Olive Oil

Red Pepper Flakes

Parsley

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. In a bowl toss shrimp with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and a large pinch (1 tsp) of red pepper flakes. Add shrimp to skillet and cook for about 2 minutes just until the shrimp turn opaque. You do not want to over cook the shrimp here, because they will be added back into the sauce and cook a little bit more! Remove shrimp and drain on paper towels. Turn the heat down to medium.

2. Heat a large pot of water over high heat. Finely chop onion and garlic. Add chopped onion to the pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute for 5-6 minutes until onions start to become translucent. Add in garlic and continue to saute for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the full can of diced tomatoes, marinara, another dash of red pepper flakes, sugar, wine and a dash of salt to the skillet. Turn heat to medium high and let simmer for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally.

4. While the sauce is simmering, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions.

5. Once pasta is done cooking, reduce the skillet to low and using tongs carefully transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the skillet. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water.

6. Add the shrimp and toss to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add the pasta water little by little to loosen the sauce.

7. Plate pasta and top with a drizzle of olive oil, additional red pepper flakes and freshly chopped parsley! Enjoy!