We’re continuing our Pasta Wednesday series this week with our second-to-last episode, featuring one of my top five favorite Italian American pasta dishes: spaghetti with shrimp fra diavolo.
What I love about this recipe is how much flavor comes from relatively few ingredients. Sweet San Marzano tomatoes, toasted garlic, Calabrian chilies, fresh basil, and plump wild-caught shrimp come together in a silky sauce that coats every strand of spaghetti.
Using high-quality ingredients makes a real difference here. I choose whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, puréed until smooth, for their sweetness and the texture they give the sauce. Large wild-caught shrimp bring a delicate sweetness of their own, and a good extra virgin olive oil provides the foundation for building the flavors.
I begin by quickly searing the shrimp, then removing them from the skillet while I prepare the sauce. There’s no flour on the shrimp and no onion in this recipe. Searing leaves behind flavorful bits in the pan, which become part of the sauce as it cooks.
Next comes the sliced garlic, which I like nicely toasted and golden. When I can find fresh chilies, I love using them. Otherwise, I use whole Calabrian chilies, chopped by hand, adjusting the amount depending on their heat. Fresh basil goes into the oil as well, including the tender stems, which I gently bruise in my hands first to release their fragrance.
A splash of Pinot Grigio adds brightness and acidity before the puréed tomatoes go in. As everything simmers, the sweetness of the tomatoes balances the chili, while the toasted garlic and basil give the sauce depth.
For the spaghetti, I choose a high-quality pasta from Gragnano with a rough surface that really catches the sauce. I cook it a few minutes shy of the package directions, then finish it directly in the skillet. Tossing the pasta with the sauce and a little pasta water brings everything together, creating that silky coating.
The shrimp return at the very end, along with their accumulated juices, so they finish cooking gently and stay tender. Finish with fresh basil, and you have a dish with beautiful flavor and very little fuss. It’s one I’m always happy to come back to.
Spaghetti with Shrimp Fra Diavolo
4
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1 pound 1 large wild-caught shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells and tails removed
1/2 pound 1/2 spaghetti, preferably a rough-textured pasta from Gragnano
1/2 cup 1/2 extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
3-4 3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 whole 4 whole Calabrian chilies, chopped by hand, or fresh hot chilies, adjusted to taste
fresh basil leaves and tender stems, plus additional leaves for finishing
3/4 cup 3/4 dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1 1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, puréed until smooth
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp in a single layer, working in batches if needed.
- Sear briefly on each side, allowing them to release naturally from the pan before turning.
- Remove while slightly underdone and set aside, reserving their accumulated juices.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the sliced garlic, adding a little more olive oil if needed.
- Let the garlic turn golden, then add the chopped chilies and a few fresh basil leaves with their tender stems, gently bruising the stems in your hands first.
- Cook briefly until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Pour in the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Let it simmer until reduced by about half, then stir in the puréed San Marzano tomatoes and season with sea salt. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Salt the boiling pasta water and add the spaghetti.
- Cook for about 9 minutes if the package calls for 12 minutes, allowing it to finish cooking in the sauce.
- Reserve a mug of pasta water before draining.
- Remove the basil stems from the sauce.
- Transfer the spaghetti to the skillet and toss over medium heat, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time as needed.
- Continue cooking until the spaghetti is al dente and the sauce coats each strand.
- Return the shrimp and their accumulated juices to the skillet during the final minute or two.
- Toss gently until the shrimp are cooked through.
- Remove from the heat and taste for seasoning.
- Finish with fresh basil and serve immediately.
- Pair with a crisp white wine, such as Pinot Grigio.
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