Shrimp Puttanesca & Mushroom Fettucini
There is nothing like enjoying a hearty pasta with seafood and a full-bodied red wine. While we don’t make pasta dishes that often, I recalled our many delicious meals in Italy a year ago and was craving a delicious Italian dinner. My husband makes a fantastic shrimp puttanesca, but I thought perhaps this would go well with a (lower fat) creamy pasta with porcinis and creminis. Our Cooking Light came just in time…I flipped it open to a Bucatini with mushrooms. It looked good but I just knew that it would be even better with our own touches. I started to work on the fettucini with mushrooms while my husband whipped up his now-famous shrimp. When we combined the two meals, it brought back memories of our two-hour lunches sipping Chianti and relaxing in the heart of Taormina, Sicily, overlooking the Ionian Sea. That was, until we had to clean up and do the dishes!
Shrimp Puttanesca & Mushroom Fettucini
(Mushroom Fettucini adapted from Cooking Light)
Mushroom Fettucini Ingredients:
3/4 c dried mushrooms
2/3 c boiling water
8 ounces pasta
4 tsps salt
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 c shallots, chopped
12-14 oz cremini mushrooms
2-3 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp dry sherry
2-3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 c half and half
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary and/or thyme
Several cranks from pepper mill
1. Rinse dried mushrooms and combine with 2/3 c boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms.
2. Cook pasta with salt until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 – 1/2 cup liquid.
3. Melt butter in skillet. Add shallots, mushrooms (both dried and fresh) and garlic. Saute five minutes. Stir in sherry, 1/2 tsp salt and cook for one minute.
4. Grate cheese. Reduce heat. Stir in pasta, 1/4 cup reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup dried mushroom/porcini liquid, 1/4 cup grated cheese, half and half, chopped rosemary and/or thyme and pepper. Toss.
Shrimp Puttanesca Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp
2 Tbsps capers
8 anchovies, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 Tbsps Kalamata olives
Red pepper flakes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
Sea salt
2-3 Tbsps olive oil
1. Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic. Saute for 1 minute.
2. Add in capers, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, shrimp, sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Cook shrimp for 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
3. Add shrimp puttanesca to mushroom fettucini. Topped with a little shaved cheese. Enjoy!
