Somewhere Else Altogether

I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times now. It’s adapted from a Serious Eats recipe. I’ll provide a link at the bottom. The original recipe is really good but my version is less fussy and – if I do say so myself – even better!

You don’t have to make a “full batch.” Just reduce the ingredients proportionally. But leftovers are really good! And don’t ask me how many people this serves. My guess is that a full batch would fill three or four people as a main dish but you do you!

If you choose to add shrimp, you’ll want to start your prep 30 minutes ahead because the raw shrimp needs to have a bit of a bath before it’s ready for showtime.

For the shrimp:

1 pound jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 count), peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

I used the same amount of salt/baking soda when using a half pound of shrimp. I think there is an explanation of what this chemistry is about at the Serious Eats link which you can find at the bottom.

For the sauce:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 medium cloves garlic (50 g)
5 Serrano chilis (50 g), stemmed, deveined, and seeded if desired
1 pound dried linguine or fettuccine
1 lime
1 loosely packed cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 to 4 small tomatoes (like a Compari)

Cut shrimp in half crosswise and put them in an appropriate size bowl. Serious Eats says to “toss the shrimp with salt and baking soda.” I guess I didn’t pay close attention to the directions, and both times I made this with shrimp I had them in a bowl with enough water to cover them and then added the salt and baking soda. You want to cover the bowl of bathing shrimp and stick them in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

Dice the chilis and garlic. (Be careful to wash your hands well with soap after you’re done, and don’t touch your face! Run them through a small food processor. You want it to be close to a paste but unless you use a mortar and pestle, it’s only going to be close. This can be made ahead, placed in a small bowl, covered and refrigerated.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil for the pasta, chop the cilantro, dice the tomato, and zest the lime, and set them aside.

When the pasta has about six minutes left to be shy of al dente, melt the butter in a saute pan large enough to hold everything comfortably. If you’re going the shrimp route, saute the shrimp in the melted butter on a medium-high heat until almost cooked through. It should still be a little translucent. You don’t want the shrimp overcooked! Remove the shrimp from the pan, leaving the butter.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chili/garlic mixture. Stir it frequently until the mixture softens and you can smell the aroma, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in some pasta water to make a nice glossy sauce.

Add the almost cooked pasta and toss it about until the sauce is slightly thickened, the pasta is glossy and al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Add additional pasta water, if needed, to evenly coat the pasta. Keep it juicy!

Add the shrimp and toss. Add the lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, and tomato, and toss some more. Season with salt to taste. I cook my pasta in heavily salted water, so additional salt hasn’t been necessary, but your mileage may vary.

Good hot or cold!

Adapted from https://www.seriouseats.com/spicy-mexican-shrimp-pasta-recipe-11749996

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