Serves a Crowd

My Easiest Shrimp Pasta Recipe

by:
April 21, 2016
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My Easiest Shrimp Pasta Recipe
Photo by Kylie Thompson
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

I adapted this recipe from Saveur, which is originally a Midnight Spaghetti dish. Their dish has no shrimp and adds breadcrumbs and parmesan at the end. I lighten it up for an easy week-night meal. The brininess of the anchovies and capers works wonderfully with the tomatoes and shrimp. The sauce is easy peasy to make and tastes so good.

This recipe is so easy to make and can be doubled or tripled to serve large groups of people.

NOTE: With the anchovies and capers, you absolutely do not need to add any additional salt to this recipe. I only add a pinch of sugar to help tone down the acidity of the tomatoes. —Kylie Thompson

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • crushed red pepper, to taste
  • 10 anchovies and their oil (to taste)
  • 1/3 cup capers, drained
  • 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes and crush them yourself)
  • pinch of sugar
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 pound spaghetti or casarecce
  • 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1/2 pound shrimps, peeled and deveined
  • crusty bread (optional, for serving)
  • olive oil
Directions
  1. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. You will eventually need to put all ingredients in this pan, so make sure it's big enough to hold pasta and sauce.
  2. Once the olive oil is shimmering, add minced garlic and crushed red pepper. Sauté for about 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add anchovies and about 1-2 teaspoons of their oil to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the anchovies until they've mostly melted into the pan. Add capers and cook until golden, about 3-4 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary to keep from burning.
  4. Reduce heat to low and add crushed tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, and freshly cracked pepper. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
  5. While the sauce is cooking, make the pasta. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
  6. When you're about 10 minutes away from serving, add the shrimp, the reserved pasta water, the lemon zest, and all but a pinch of the chopped parsley. Cook for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until the shrimps are just about cooked through.
  7. Add the pasta to the sauce and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring so that the pasta is well coated and the shrimps are completely cooked through (About 1 minute).
  8. Divide into bowls and garnish with remaining parsley. Serve with crusty bread (optional)
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