Deliciously Rich and Creamy!

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Make Deliciously Rich and Creamy!

A really delicious Italian pasta dish mostly made from scratch with shrimp, a creamy sauce and of course freshly grated cheeses.....what could be bad!

Shrimp Pasta with Creamy Mozzarella Sauce

Serves 4

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Pasta

8 oz penne pasta

Shrimp

2 tablespoons olive oil (drained from sun-dried tomatoes jar or just use regular olive oil)

1 pound shrimp (without shells, and deveined)

3 garlic cloves minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce

4 oz sun-dried tomatoes (without oil)

4 garlic cloves , minced

1 cup half and half

1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded (never frozen)

1 tablespoon dried basil (if using fresh basil you can add more)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes , crushed, add more to taste

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package instructions or if using fresh, even better. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain the pasta.

Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing the shrimp. 

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar or use regular olive oil) in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add shrimp, minced garlic and cook the shrimp on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pinkish golden brown on that side. While it cooks, sprinkle the top of shrimp with salt to cover every single shrimp. Make sure not to crowd the shrimp in the skillet, otherwise moisture will form and shrimp won't sear right. After 1 minute, Flip the shrimp over to the other side and cook for about 30 seconds or 1 minute more. The shrimp should be pinkish golden in color on both sides.  Do not overcook.  They will finish cooking after they are out of the pan and when warmed back up by the sauce.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp to a plate being careful to leave all the oil in the skillet.

To the same skillet, add sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and sliced into smaller chunks, if needed) and more minced garlic, and saute in olive oil (remaining from shrimp) on medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. The skillet should be hot.

Add half and half to the hot skillet with sun-dried tomatoes and bring to boil. Add shredded cheese to the skillet, and stir in while boiling. Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all the cheese melts and the creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half and half or reserved cooked pasta water. Add basil, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika. Stir.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt gradually, stirring on low heat and tasting (you might need slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon).

Add cooked pasta to the sauce, and reheat gently on medium heat. Add the cooked shrimp, stir it in. Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Add a small amount of half and half or reserved cooked pasta water, if the sauce is too thick. Let everything simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.

Plating/Presentation

Using warmed dinner plates or shallow bowls, spoon the pasta onto the plate/bowl and make sure there is a good sharing/division of the shrimp....we don't want to start a war!  LOL, and of course, have a bowl of freshly grated parmesan and or mozzarella cheeses for your guests to use if they like.

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