parsley & polka dots: shrimp fra diavolo

Monday, November 26, 2012

shrimp fra diavolo

In any Italian restaurant, if I see shrimp fra diavolo listed on the menu, I am forced to order it...if I don't, I'll regret it hands down every time. Some places can get fancy with their fra diavolo, adding lobster or scallops or other bits of seafood protein, but I'm easy with fra diavolo: all I really need are some flavor-chameleonizing shrimp. A super quick, easy, healthy, spicy recipe, this shrimp frav diavolo recipe can be whipped up in a mere 15 minutes. The spice adds a nice kick to your metabolism while the shrimp will provide the protein to fill you up at the same time.

Ingredients (for two servings):

1 lb deveined tail-on shrimp

1 lemon

3 tbs olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup water

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs crushed red pepper

1 dried chipotle pepper, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp dried basil

1/2 lb whole-wheat spaghetti

*Double sauce ingredients if you would like more of a sauce*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Toss shrimp in a small bowl to coat with juice of 1 lemon & a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Let sit aside to fully thaw and marinate.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, add sliced onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Once onions are translucent (about 6 minutes), add crushed tomatoes, white wine, water, garlic, chipotle pepper, along with herbs & spices. Stir and let simmer to thicken about 10 minutes. (Feel free to add as much kick as you want, but be careful...you can't come back from too many red pepper flakes easily!)

4. At this point, pop shrimp into preheated oven on a tin-foiled baking sheet for 8 minutes. Also bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 1/3 cup of starchy pasta-water when straining pasta.

5. Once the sauce has thickened, add the cooked shrimp to the skillet and stir to meld flavors for 2 minutes.