Seafood

Baked and Buttered Bay Shrimp over Pasta

October  6, 2014
4.5
6 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Keeping the ingredient list short but full of intention means that every flavor works in unison, with little waste. Waste, like shrimp shells, is a matter of perspective -- and this recipe proves that big flavor can come in simple packages. —Caroline Wright

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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds large, shell-on shrimp
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter, cut into cubes
  • 3 fresh or dried bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt
  • 8 ounces cappellini pasta
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425° F. On a large piece of parchment, pile the shrimp, butter, bay leaves, pepper, and lemon; toss everything with salt to taste. Crimp and fold the parchment paper around shrimp to form a packet. Bake until the shrimp are opaque, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
  2. Peel the shrimp and discard shells. Divide the pasta among serving bowls, and top with shrimp. Before serving, spoon the bay butter that has collected in the parchment packets over the pasta.

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Before her diagnosis, Caroline wrote a book on cakes called Cake Magic!. She started developing a birthday cake using her gluten-free mix found in that book. Check out other recipes she’s developing for her new life—and the stories behind them—on her blog, The Wright Recipes. Her next book, Soup Club, is a collection of recipes she made for her underground soup club of vegan and grain-free soups she delivers every week to friends throughout Seattle's rainy winter.

3 Reviews

Stephanie H. September 28, 2021
This was good on the level of comfort food. Buttery, warm, and just a little zing from the lemon. I will definitely make it again, but with a few slight modifications of methodology.
I feel like the parchment paper packet was intended to make this a mess-free recipe, and while the packet was easy to prepare, half my shrimp was done and half not. Next time I'll just spread everything in a small casserole dish; the dishwasher will handle the mess, and my meal won't take twice as long. The lemon was just right, but I felt that none of the bay came through in such a short baking time, so I'm going to reconsider that next time.
I really did like this; it was fast and above all it was good. I will absolutely make again.
Max H. March 3, 2016
I found that once the shrimp got out of the oven it took too long to undo the shells, and the pasta was a little bit cold when serving. Next time I''ll undo the shells before putting in the oven, but still add them to the parchment mix, so you get ánd the flavor, ánd the easy handling of peeled shrimp.
Shannon July 16, 2015
This recipe was delicious, however, there wasn't enough of the shrimp sauce for the pasta. There was just enough for four very small servings, but not much more. The flavor and the parchment packet cooking is wonderful, though.