Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

Shrimp (or prawns in England) are an abundant food source globally, they grow in most coastal regions. And, on top of that, they are delicious and easy to cook. I do love shrimp scampi, but, as usual I’m always looking for another way to cook dinner. There are other similar recipes around but this is my take on shrimp in tomato sauce. Personally I think it’s damn good, that’s a biased opinion, but I think you should try it.

Catching shrimp is nothing new, the Romans and the Greeks wrote about it. Nets are dragged across the sea bed catching the shrimp as they disturb the sea floor. This process, unfortunately, also catches a lot of other species of wildlife, and is damaging to the environment. In the 14th century, a letter was sent to the King of England complaining about the destructive methods used to catch shrimp and the damage to the coastline. It appears even back then there were concerns with damage being done to the planet by our actions. Most shrimp are farm raised these days, only about 2% of shrimp worldwide is wild caught.

Shrimp is considered a healthy food, it’s high in protein and low in saturated fat. It has cholesterol, however, due to the low saturated fat content, it helps with the good cholesterol/bad cholesterol balance and can lower triglycerides. Shrimp, as with any shellfish, have to be cleaned properly before consumption, there’s a reason they’re not kosher. But, that is made easier because most stores sell deveined shrimp.

According to Bubba in Forest Gump, there’s a million ways to cook shrimp. And although that may be an exaggeration, it is very versatile and cooks easily. This particular recipe is not really labor intensive. It easily fits into the weeknight time budget as well. Cooks in about the same amount of time as the pasta that goes with it.

Prep is everything, especially with a dish like this. The whole thing comes together pretty quick, so, it’s important to have everything ready. Starting with the shrimp, shell removed, deveined and rinsed. Set aside. Always remember to clean up after handling anything raw, please read my post on safe food prep. The onion and garlic finely diced. Finely dicing the onion and the garlic are pretty important with this dish. Firstly, you don’t want chunks of onion in the tomato sauce. Also, mincing garlic removes the garlic oils, which are essential to the flavor. There is a technique to doing it, I would advise to take a moment to review a couple of videos on the subject, they can be very helpful.

On to the herbs and spices, I like to measure them out into a small bowl, then they can be added when needed. Grate some fresh parmesan, better than out of a plastic container. And finally the pasta of your choice. Linguini is usually the classic choice with shrimp, but, bowties work well, in fact anything works well.

On to the cooking part. Put up the water for the pasta, the time for the water to boil and the pasta to cook controls the cooking time for this dish. Preheat a pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Stir to mix and cover, stirring occasionally. The idea is to sweat them down, but not to caramelize them. Once they are soft, maybe 5 mins, add the tomato sauce and spices, stir well and cover. This needs to sit over heat for a bit. The water for the pasta should be boiling, add salt generously and the pasta. Now add the shrimp to the tomato sauce, stirring to coat and cook, cover, stirring occasionally.

If the shrimp is cooked before the pasta is ready, remove from the heat and leave covered. When the pasta is cooked, drain, return to the pot, add olive oil, some pepper, garlic powder and parsley. Plate the pasta, with the shrimp over the top, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. That’s it shrimp in tomato sauce. Thank you for reading and enjoy.