This is a recipe I actually made up, although there's nothing especially original about it. It's vaguely modelled on an old Italian restaurant standby, linguine with clam sauce. It's quick and easy to make, quite tasty, and with a good salad makes a satisfying meal. You could substitute bottled clam juice for the shrimp stock is you were in a hurry, but it won't taste as good
- 1 1/2 lbs shrimp in the shell
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, 5 sliced, 1 whole
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk celery cut in 2" lengths
- 4 peppercorns
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 plum tomatoes (fresh or canned), chopped and drained
- hot pepper flakes (to taste)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 lb. linguine
Shell the shrimp after rinsing in cold water; reserve the shells. Make a shrimp stock by combining the shells, bay leaf, garlic clove, peppercorns and 3 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer partly covered for about 30 mins. Strain and discard solids. You should have about 1 cup of stock. If you have much more than that, reduce to 1 cup; if you have much less, add white wine or water Set aside.
Bring 6 quarts or more salted water to boil in a large stock pot.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the sliced garlic and brown over medium heat. Add white wine and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes and cook for five minutes. Add shrimp stock, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Taste to adjust seasoning, and cook covered over low heat for about 10 mins.
At this point, add linguine to vigorously boiling water and cook until it is is just barely done, stirring occasionally. A few minutes before pasta is ready, turn heat in skillet up to medium high, add cleaned shrimp and half the chopped parsley and cook covered until shrimp have lost their raw look, 2-3 mins.
Drain pasta well, return it to the stock pot, and add the contents of the skillet. (Alternatively, if the skillet is large enough, you can add the linguine to the contents of the skillet.) Cook uncovered over medium high heat for a couple of minutes. tossing the pasta in the liquid until it is done. Serve in warm bowls, garnished with remaining parsley.
serves four