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.