Shrimp and Pasta in a Basil Cream Sauce

Submitted by raisdbywolvz

"This is a simple yet elegant pasta dish, perfect for a romantic evening. It's rich and decadent, but you deserve it."

photo by Pam-I-Am

ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
¹⁄₄ cup shallot, thinly sliced (one large shallot)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (2-3 cloves)
¹⁄₃ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
¹⁄₃ cup grape tomatoes (2 good handfuls) or 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes (2 good handfuls)
¹⁄₂ ounce pine nuts (about a quarter of a small bag)
¹⁄₂ cup dry vermouth or 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons basil, sliced in a chiffinade (about 10 to 12 large leaves)
¹⁄₃ lb pasta (I used spaghetti)
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Start the water for the pasta. When it comes to a boil, add salt and pasta and cook until al dente.
In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter. When butter stops foaming, add shallots and garlic, and a pinch of salt and black pepper, and saute until shallots are tender.
Add shrimp, grape tomatoes, and pine nuts and cook until tomatoes burst.
Remove everything from pan and keep warm.
Return pan to heat and add vermouth. Allow to cook down for 1 minute while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cream, and salt and pepper to taste. I used about 20 grinds of fresh ground black pepper and a healthy pinch of kosher salt. Stir well and cook until cream reduces and thickens. Stir often during this process so your cream doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.
To chiffinade the basil, pile the basil leaves neatly on top of each other, then roll the whole pile into a long, tight log. Cut the log into thin slices.
When sauce reaches desired thickness, add basil to cream sauce and stir well. Cook for a minute or two to let the basil infuse the cream.
Return shrimp and tomato mixture to pan and heat through.
Serve over your choice of pasta. Garnish with chives and parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve with crusty bread and a nice salad on the side.
Enjoy!

Got a question? Share it with the community!

I added chicken to this recipe. I used diced tomatoes and onions. I left out the pine nuts too. This recipe has an AWESOME flavor. I had trouble getting it to thicken up, so I made a little bit of a rue with flour and water and it turned out just right. The family loved it and I will definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!

CHaas
This is a delicious and forgiving recipe. I'm allergic to pine nuts so omitted. Only had about 1/3 cup of cream but I substituted with whole milk. Added a pinch of red peppers to the sauce. Delicious. I will definitely make this again. The flavor of the fresh basil really came through especially since they were not overcooked. Thank you.

Nado2003
I made a few changes and lightened it up a bit. I used whole wheat spaghetti, white wine instead of vermouth, amond milk instead of cream, added a handfull of arugula and about a tablespoon of low fat cream cheese to make the sauce creamy. I left out the pine nuts since my husband doesn't really care for them. Tasted like something you'd get in a restaurant....great dish!

Pickles McGee
I used a pound of shrimp which I cooked separately, in avocado oil. I used no salt, and added a dash of red pepper. Delicious! This is definitely joining our regular rotation!

Rebecca B.
I used whole wheat spaghetti, and instead of heavy cream I used 1% fat plain yogurt. Much lighter on calories and fat, and just as delicious.

Jennifer J.

see 9 more reviews

I used whole wheat spaghetti, and instead of heavy cream I used 1% fat plain yogurt. Much lighter on calories and fat, and just as delicious.

Jennifer J.
Very tasty pasta dish! The flavour of the vermouth really comes through nicely in the sauce. I replaced the heavy cream with extra light thickened cream to cut the fat and served over gluten-free spaghetti. Yum! Thanks raisdbywolvz! Made for PAC Fall 2008.

AmandaInOz