Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Once upon a time, we had a Housewarming party. (okay, I'll admit it was just a few months ago) In addition to the real-life party, I opened it up to virtual participation. One guest showed up online, and it was the lovely steph from a whisk and a spoon. She brought Southwestern-style Garlic Shrimp Tapas, and guacamole and oven-baked tortilla chips! I've been drooling over steph's shrimp since then.

When a night came that I didn't know what to have for dinner, but had a bag of uncooked shrimp in the freezer, I thought of steph's shrimp. My shrimp had some issues, namely it was frozen, sort of small, and still had the shell on. I couldn't make the shrimp spicy and serve it up to the boys, and I wanted to serve it with pasta.

This is what I came up with, I totally used steph's techniques and recipe, just left out a couple ingredients. I encourage you to try steph's Southwestern-style shrimp, but if you need a quick family meal, you've come to the right place.

I thawed the shrimp by placing them in a bowl and running cold water over them until they were ready. Then I drained the shrimp. I left the shells on because I just didn't want to deal with peeling that many shrimp, and I decided it would add an element of fun to the dinner table--look, boys, you get to take the legs off your shrimp!

I marinated the shrimp and put some water on for pasta, this time we used about 1/2 pound of spaghetti.

I'll just get on with the recipe. This garlic shrimp pasta was delicious and light, and easy! Everyone loved it. (and I forgot to add the parsley)


Garlic Shrimp Pasta
adapted from a whisk & a spoon
serves 4, with a bit leftover

half a pound of pasta, al dente

about 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined if you wish
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 500°F. In a bowl, combine the shrimp with about one third of the minced garlic, two tablespoons of olive oil and salt. Let shrimp marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature (this should be long enough for your oven to preheat).

Once the oven is hot, pour the remaining olive oil into a medium-size, shallow casserole or baking dish (or a seasoned Spanish cazuela). Add the remaining minced garlic and the bay leaf and bake until sizzling, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the shrimp and marinade to the sizzling oil, and return the dish to the oven. Bake (stirring once) for another 3-4 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through. The shrimp is done when there is no more gray, but rather all the shrimp are whitish-pink. For me this took several minutes longer, just keep an eye on it. Remove shrimp from oven. Throw out the bay leaf and season with additional salt (if necessary).

Meanwhile, drain cooked pasta and put in a large bowl. When shrimp is done, toss shrimp and oil with the pasta, until pasta is coated. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

*If you don't peel and devein the shrimp, make sure you tell your family they'll have to do it at their plates.