This is a Parker twist on an old Emeril recipe and it never disappoints. Fancy enough for company but low maintenance enough for a cozy night in at home. It’s perfect for this time of year when it’s cold out and you want some hot pasta to warm you up! If you want to turn down the heat a notch, you can omit the jalapeños, but I don’t recommend it. You can also substitute gluten-free pasta or zucchini if you want to make this low-carb and/or gluten free.
Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine in a Red Pepper Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- Spicy Shrimp Pasta
- 1 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 2 jalapeños diced
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 1/2 cup roasted red pepper diced
- 2 Tb butter (divided)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (Just take 1/2 cup out of the pot of water you cooked the pasta in right before you drain it.)
- 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan plus more for topping on pasta
- 2 Tb Spice mix (recipe below)
- Fettuccine cooked al dente
- kosher salt
- fresh chopped basil
Spice Mix
- 2 Tb chili powder
- 1 Tb paprika
- 1 Tb garlic powder
- 1 Tb onion powder
- 1 Tb thyme
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
For the Pasta
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Make sure you salt the water– 2 Tb of kosher salt will do the trick. Reserve 1/2 cup of the water before draining the pasta and set aside.
For the Sauce
2. In a large saucepan, saute onion, garlic, jalapeño and roasted red pepper in 1 Tb butter on medium heat until soft, about 7 minutes. Add heavy cream, 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and 1 Tb of the spice mix, stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and stir while sauce thickens, another 5-7 minute.
3. Add 1 cup of pepper jack and 1/2 cup of parmesan to sauce and stir to combine. Let the cheese melt into the sauce while you cook your shrimp.
For the shrimp
4. Sprinkle 1 Tb of spice mix on shrimp until coated (you may want a little more) and heat up a frying pan with 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil until butter gets bubbly. Add shrimp and do not move them around in the pan. Set your timer for 3 minutes exactly and then flip the shrimp over. Set timer again for 2 minutes and those babies are done! In my experience, the 3/2 minute timer trick will guarantee you never overcook them.
5. Stir the drained fettuccine into the sauce. Plate up the pasta and top with shrimp, fresh basil and a few more pinches of parmesan.
Let the cheese get all melty while your sauce thickens up. Delish!
