Fettuccine with Shrimp and Leeks
Degree of Difficulty: Intermediate
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Cook Time: 55 min
Ingredients:
1 lb 31-40 count shrimp, shells and tails on
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
5 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp red chili flakes
4 springs fresh basil
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 – 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups shrimp or chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-n-half
1 tbsp butter
2 large leeks
1/2 – 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1 small broccoli crown, cut into small florets
salt and pepper to season the shrimp
appx 8oz fettuccine
Begin by removing the tails and shells from the shrimp and setting those aside. You’ll also want to remove the nasty ‘vein’ running down the back of the shrimp if that hasn’t already been removed. Place the shrimp in the refrigerator for later use.
Set a medium saucepan over medium heat and let it come up to temperature. When the pan is hot, add 2 tbsp olive oil, wait about 30 seconds then add the chopped onions and cook over medium heat for 5 min. Next, add the chopped ginger and garlic and cook for another 1 min. Add the shrimp tails and shells to the saucepan and cook for about 3 min or so then add the tomato paste, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 3-5 min, stirring fairly constantly so it doesn’t burn. Add the white wine and stir to make sure everything is combined. Then add the shrimp or chicken stock and fresh basil and let the whole thing cook for about 30 min. After 30 min, strain the sauce and keep the strained sauce in a saucepan set over low heat until it final assembly time.
While the sauce is cooking, you’ll want to bring some water to a boil for the fettuccine. Now is also the time to prepare the other vegetables. Leeks are generally some of the dirtiest things you’ll ever find in a grocery store so you’ll want to make sure you give them a good cleaning. I removed the extra-filthy outer layer and then I cut the stalk into 2 inch segments. I then cut each segment in half, lengthwise, then cut the halves into thin strips (a rough julienne cut). I then put the strips into a bowl of cold water and quickly rinsed all of the dirt out and then put the leeks into a paper towel lined bowl to let them dry. After drying, I grabbed a large saute pan and set it over medium heat. Once the pan was hot, I added the butter and sauteed the leeks for about 5-7 min until they started to get a little brown and tender, then I transferred the leeks to a bowl for later use. In the same pan over medium heat, I sauteed the broccoli florets in 1 tbsp olive oil for about 5 min, or until they were tender, and then I added them to the reserved leeks.
Shrimp doesn’t need a long cooking time so you want to time this next part according to how much time is left in the fettuccine cooking process…you’ll want appx 8 min for this step. Allow the saute pan to come up to heat over medium heat (use the same pan you used for the vegetables), then add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute the shrimp for about 5 min. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper right after you add them to the pan. You want the shrimp to begin to turn bright red but not totally cook all the way through. After about 5 min, add the reserved leeks, broccoli, and sliced cherry tomatoes and cook together for about 1 min. Next, add the strained sauce and cook for another minute. Add the cream or half-n-half and cook for another 1-2 min and if you’ve timed everything well (or, I explained how to time everything well) then the pasta and sauce should be ready at the same time as the pasta. Serve immediately. You can either toss the fettuccine in with the sauce or serve the sauce over the fettuccine in a big bowl, whatever floats your boat.
