Creamy Fettuccine with Roasted Red Pepper and Spicy Shrimp

This recipe is an adaption of the Barefoot Contessa's Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper. It uses her recipe as a base for the noodles and then adds a delicious shrimp mixture on the top. It is simple, rich and full of flavor and there are a million variations you can make, depending on what you have on hand.

The ingredients are simple and usually ones we have lying around, so this is a great dinner to throw together on those evenings when you just didn't make it to the store the kids are asking when dinner is.  You will need some sort of pasta; I like to use fettuccine or linguine because the creamy sauce will really "stick:" to it.  Also pull out Kosher salt, whole black peppercorns, a half a stick of butter, cream and a hunk of your favorite aged Italian cheese.  I used Pecorino Romano because it is what was in the fridge, and because it has a wonderful salty flavor which is perfect for this dish.  From the produce drawer, retrieve garlic, Italian parsley, lemon (glaringly absent from the picture above, but use your imagination) and a roasted red bell pepper.  If you have a jar of the roasted peppers, you can use this, but if not, they are super easy, and fun, to do yourself.  Here is a quick tutorial on roasting bell peppers if you need it and you missed it.

The last ingredient is shrimp.  Take out the desired amount, usually about 1 lb and peel off the shell and tails.

Now let's get everything mise en place, pronounced miz ɑ̃ plas, or literally "putting in place" in French. I love that word. It is even better when you have a sous chef to assist, but I digress.  Put 1 tablespoon of peppercorns in your mortar and pestle

and crush them until you have a nice consistency.  I like lots of coarse bits.

Next take four garlic cloves, smash them by placing your knife over each of them and hitting it with the palm of your hand; remove the peels and mince.

Take the pretty red bell, julienne it into thin strips, rotate it 90 degrees and cut again into a small dice.

Take a handful of Italian parsley

and coarsely chop.

Cut your lemon in half so it is ready to be squeezed into the sauce.

Use a box grater to shred a big pile (about one generous cup) of your Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.

When your kids, who are now very hungry, start stealing it, grate some more...

Take the bottle of white wine that you opened when you started dinner and reserve 1/2  to 1 cups so that you have it when you need it.

Finally, take 1/2 stick of butter and divide it into 2 T, 1 T and 1 T pieces.  Now, we are ready to start cooking!  Fill a large saucepan with water, generously salt and get it boiling.  When it is at a rolling boil, add 8 oz of pasta.

While the noodles are cooking, put a large saute pan on medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter.

As it is melting, you can throw the garlic on top of it and then add a dash of red pepper flakes.

Cook, stirring as needed, for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Make sure not to scorch your garlic.

Then, add in the diced roasted red bell pepper and cook for about a minute.

When the garlic is nice and fragrant, pour in the white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Throw in the peeled shrimp, spread them thin and flip as soon as they start to get pink.  You really don't want to overcook shrimp because they will get tough.

Add in another tablespoon of butter

and about half of the chopped Italian parsley.  If it looks a little dry, add a splash more wine and then turn the heat very low while you finish the pasta.

Using a glass measure, remove 2/3 to 1 cup of water from the pasta saucepan and then lightly drain.  It is OK if the pasta is still dripping when you dump it back into the bowl.

Take most of the grated cheese and put it on top of the pasta, followed by 2 tablespoons of cream.

Add in enough of the reserved pasta water, stirring quickly to melt the cheese, to coat the pasta.

Add the cracked peppercorns and mix until combined.

And then put a generous serving on a plate.

Right before putting the shrimp mixture on top of the pasta, squeeze the lemon into the saute pan and stir to combine.

Serve the shrimp over the creamy fettuccine and top with a sprinkling of the remaining shredded cheese and parsley.  I'm just now realizing that one of the hazards of posting the things I make is that 1. I'm always hungry and 2. I want to make this again tonight.

Creamy Fettuccine with Roasted Red Pepper and Spicy Shrimp


serves:2  (Recipe also on Tasty Kitchen)

• 1 T whole black peppercorns, crushed 
  
• 8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• Kosher salt
• 4 T butter, divided
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 t red pepper flakes
  
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 to 1 c dry white wine 
• 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 c Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 c Pecorino Romano, shredded
• 2 T heavy cream
• 1 lemon
  

Put peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and crush them until you have a nice mix of coarse bits and smaller pieces.

Fill a large saucepan with water, generously salt and add pasta when it begins boiling.  Continue to cook for 10 minutes, or as directed, until al dente.

While the noodles are cooking, put a large saute pan on medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter.  Add the minced garlic with a dash of red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring as needed, for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add in the diced roasted red bell pepper and cook for another minute.  Pour in the white wine and use a wooden spoon to deglaze.  When the sauce is bubbly, add in the peeled shrimp, spreading them in a single layer and flipping as soon as they start to get pink. Finish the sauce by mixing in another tablespoon of butter and half of the chopped Italian parsley.  Add more wine until the sauce is the desired consistency and turn the heat to low while you finish the pasta.

Using a glass measure, remove 2/3 to 1 cup of water from the pasta saucepan and then lightly drain the pasta.  Return the pasta to the sauce pan;  add in most of the grated cheese, the cream and the reserved pasta water, stirring quickly to melt the cheese and coat the pasta.  Add the cracked peppercorns and mix until combined.

Place a generous serving of pasta on a plate.  Squeeze the lemon into the shrimp mixture, stirring to combine. Serve the shrimp over the creamy fettuccine and top with a sprinkling of the remaining shredded cheese and parsley.

Roasting Peppers : Tutorial

I started to post a pasta recipe that used red roasted peppers, and realized, since the roasting itself is so much fun, that it might be best to post a precursor tutorial on the roasting bell peppers and then follow up with some recipes to use up the finished product.

When I roast peppers, I put them directly on the burner of our cooktop.

However, if you don't have a gas cooktop, you can use your grill.  Egads!  No way!  It is too cold and snowy out there right now and I have on flip flops.

Alternatively, if you don't have a gas cooktop and your grill is snowed in, you can get out your kitchen torch.

The flame on this baby will roast a pepper nicely.  Failing all that, if you must, use your broiler.  To use the broiler, cut your pepper in half, push it flat, skin side up, on a cookie sheet and scorch 'em. 

But, back to my preferred method, if you have a gas cooktop, just lay it right over the flame.  See that nice sweat building up on the top?  It is starting to roast.

When it is completely black, use your tongs (not you hands, I've tried that) to rotate it a quarter turn.  Yes, the skin on this side is actually a little bit on fire, but that won't hurt it a bit.

Keep rotating until the entire pepper is nice and black

And then pop it off the flame and seal it in a ziplock bag.  Walk away for 10 minutes, or more, and when you come back

You will have a beautiful blackened pepper

which the skin will slough right off of when you run your hands over it.

Once the skin has been removed, you can rinse it under the faucet or you can just leave a bit of the black char on there.  It will add to the flavor.

Then lay it on your cutting board and cut out the stem, pulling out the seeds with it.

Cut the pepper in half and remove any remaining seeds. 

You can roast red, yellow, green, orange or purple peppers for a bright addition to so many dishes. Tomorrow, I'll follow up with at least one recipe to use them!

Authentic German Pretzels

This recipe was passed down to me from my Grandma.  I always remember eating these when we visited her and when I got married, she added her recipe to my "family cookbook".  They are a labor of love, but completely worth the end result.

Most of the ingredients are staples.  You will need yeast, sugar, salt, eggs, flour and vegetable oil.  However to finish the pretzels, you will need food grade lye.  Not so basic, but more on that later.

First, put a packet (or 2 1/4 t of yeast) into a cup measure and add 3/4 c. warm water and 1 t of sugar.

  Let the yeast work until the yeast mixture is up to the 1 c mark.

In the meantime, combine 2 c warm water, 1 tsp salt, 1 large or 2 small egss and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl.  When the yeast mixture has activated, add it to the bowl and mix well with a spoon.

Add 1/2 c of vegetable oil and 3 c of flour, one cup at a time.

Continue to work in 3-4 more cups of flour, kneading in the last cup with floured hands.

Cover the bowl and set in a warm place (I prefer the oven which has been slightly warmed and then turned off)

for an hour, or until doubled in size.

Grease hands and push down the dough.

Let rise again until doubled, or about another hour.

Now for the fun!  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Combine 1 quart of cold water and 2 T of food grade lye in a shallow glass baking dish.  Do not use metal when handling or storing the lye as it will corrode it.  You can get the food grade lye online if you can't find it locally. 

Flour your working surface and your hands and grab a ball of dough from the bowl, a little smaller than a tennis ball.

Roll the dough into a 16" strip, 3/8" in diameter.

Cross one side

and then the other to form a pretzel.

Pick up the pretzel by the upper loops and drop it into your diluted lye mixture.  Use a slotted spoon to retrieve the pretzel

and slide it onto a baking sheet covered with a silpat.  Again, make sure to not put the pretzel directly on a metal baking sheet or it will corrode the pan.  If you don't have a silpat, cover the sheet with heavy tin foil and grease well. 

Once you have a sheet full, generously sprinkle kosher salt over the pretzels.

Bake immediately for 8 to 10 minutes, or longer, until the pretzels have a dark brown crust.

Remove to a wire rack to cool, after snagging one for yourself to "test".  These are best fresh.  If you can't eat them all in a timely manner, after they have cooled, freeze the extras in a ziplock bag and reheat in the microwave.

Yum! I have to go and get another!

Authentic German Pretzels

makes:2 dozen pretzels   (Recipe also on Tasty Kitchen)

• 1 packet yeast
• 3/4 c warm water
• 1 t sugar
• 2 c warm water
• 1 t salt
• 1 lg or 2 small eggs
• 1/2 c sugar
• 6-7 c flour
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1 qt cold water
• 2 T food grade lye

Put a packet (or 2 1/4 t of yeast) into a cup measure and add 3/4 c. warm water and 1 t of sugar. Let the yeast work until the yeast mixture is up to the 1 c mark.

Combine 2 c warm water, 1 tsp salt, 1 large or 2 small egss and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and mix well with a spoon. Add 1/2 c of vegetable oil and 3 c of flour, one cup at a time. Continue to work in 3-4 more cups of flour, kneading in the last cup with floured hands.

Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size. Grease hands and push down the dough. Let rise again until doubled, or about another hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine 1 quart of cold water and 2 T of food grade lye in a shallow glass baking dish.

Flour your working surface and your hands and grab a ball of dough from the bowl, a little smaller than a tennis ball. Roll the dough into a 16" strip, 3/8" in diameter. Cross the pretzel and drop it into the diluted lye mixture. Use a slotted spoon to retrieve the pretzel, drip dry and slide it onto a baking sheet covered with a silpat. Generously sprinkle kosher salt over the pretzels.

Bake immediately for 8 to 10 minutes, or longer, until the pretzels have a dark brown crust. Remove to a wire rack to cool.