Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, and Spinach Fettuccine


I like shrimp for many reasons.

The large 21 - 25 per pound variety are on sale for about $15 for a 2 pound pound bag at least once a month at my grocery store.

Shrimp is packaged individually frozen, peeled and deveined.

Shrimp thaws in practically no time at all.

Shrimp cooks in minutes.

When we have shrimp for dinner, it feels a little fancy.

I can pretend I am on vacation at the Jersey Shore.

Tonight's dinner of Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, and Spinach Fettuccine took about 20 minutes of prep time plus an additional 15 minutes to thaw the shrimp. The quickest way to thaw frozen shrimp is in a large bowl of cold water. Just place the shrimp you need for your recipe a bowl. I usually serve about 1/4 to 1/3 pound of shrimp per person. Cover with cold water and let the bowl sit on the counter for about 15 minutes. You can change the water once during the thawing time and this helps speed up the process.

When I typically make a pasta dish, it involves some sort of sauce. It may be a tomato, cream, or wine sauce. For tonight's entree, I used a technique I have seen on many Italian cooking shows that involves reserving some of the hot water that the pasta cooks in to make a light sauce. Before draining the pasta, set aside about 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. By adding the starchy water to the cooked shrimp, sausage, spinach and pasta, it loosens any of the tasty bits from the saute pan adding subtle flavor to your dish.

You have about 35 minutes to make dinner, don't you?


Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, and Spinach Fettuccine
serves 5

1 pound fettuccine
olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 links of hot Italian sausage, removed from casing, about 1/4 pound
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/4 pounds of large shrimp (21 - 25/pound), peeled and deveined
4 large handfuls of baby spinach, about 4 cups loosely packed
1 cup corn
1/2 cup pasta water
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated and not packed, plus more to serving
salt
pepper

Cook fettuccine in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Set aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage in small pieces and the garlic and cook until until the sausage is cooked and browned.

Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until it is slightly wilted. Add corn and pasta water to saute pan and scrape up any bits cooked on to the bottom of the pan. Add pasta and toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place in a serving bowl and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with extra cheese.

23 comments:

Ninette said...

Yum!

teresa said...

I love shrimp too, for all the same reasons, I just wish I could get the rest of my family on board! This looks incredible, it has my mouth watering!

Elyse said...

I love shrimp, too, and this particular shrimp dish looks especially delicious. I'm saving this one--I can't wait to try it!

Donna-FFW said...

This dish is absolutely lovely. I adore shrimp recipes and this is on my must try list. It loks so delicious!

kat said...

Yum, shrimp & sausage together.

Jeff said...

Jealous our shrimp for that price is about 15 a lb.

Good heat addition of the spicy sausage. That is one thing I love about shrimp is that it plays well with all flavors.

Colleen said...

I love to cook with shrimp too for all the reasons you listed! And this recipe looks amazing!

Robin said...

Spinach and corn and sausage and shrimp. Well this does beat all. Love everything about this dish!

Kaye said...

This looks DELICIOUS!
I've been lurking around your blog for months now and I have used a number of your recipes:
Maple Brown Sugar Flank Steak, Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, Carnitas, Fish in a Foil...the list goes on!
LOVE THEM ALL!
Thank you so much!

Carrie said...

This looks really good! I just love shrimp, too, and cook with it all of the time. I love the addition of corn to your pasta, it's an ingredient that I wouldn't have thought to add!

Nicole said...

Yummy! I'm going to make that this week. My kids love shrimp!

Debbie said...

This is my kind of dish and it looks delicious!

HLEure said...

I made this tonight, and it was great! I used yellow bell pepper instead of the corn and added crushed red pepper. Next time I make it, I won't use a non-stick pan, and I definitely won't add a whole cup of parmesan cheese. Italian sausage and shrimp are always a good combo!

test it comm said...

That pasta looks so tasty!

Leslie said...

Looks yummy. I love to use reserved pasta water to thicken my dishes!

Kathy - Panini Happy said...

I like shrimp for all of those reasons too! This looks like just the kind of pasta dishes I enjoy most - will be making this very soon!

Patsyk said...

I love meals like this... and shrimp for those same reasons!

Peter M said...

Oh yes...that's the business...chorizo would work splendidly here too!

Jan said...

LOVE this and I really like chorizo with shrimp.

Jenn@slim-shoppin said...

My husband is going to love this.

I always make pasta, but usually the same thing, with slight variation. I will make this for sure!

Thanks for sharing the recipe!

I think shrimp makes things fancy too!

Anonymous said...

This is awesome!

I just did a search and typed in the ingredients that I had in my freezer, and this recipe came back - WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE AVALAIBLE IN IT!!! So happy! Totally bookmarked this right away. :-)

Mandy said...

Great post! I think shrimp is one of those foods to always keep in the freezer. I feel "fancy" too when I serve it to my family!

amycaseycooks said...

mandy - thanks for stopping by Dinners for a Year. This is one of my go-to meals and I hope you enjoy the recipe.