Easy Weeknight Recipe: Aglio Olio Pasta with Tomatoes & Shrimp
I dare say that every one of us aspiring home cooks have attempted to cook pasta at least once, and Spaghetti Aglio Olio would most definitely be at the very top of that list. It is by far the easiest pasta dish to cook utilising only four basic ingredients – spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, and chilli flakes.
However, like any other dish that is deemed ‘easy to cook’, it’s important to execute with precision (and of course, passion) to get the flavours right. I’ve attempted to cook Aglio Olio many times and they always come out either too bland or too spicy. After many trial and errors, here is my very own weeknight (Wednesday night to be precise) adaptation of the Shrimp Aglio Olio recipe from Food Network (my go to source for quick one-pot recipes), incorporating the zest of tomatoes, lemon juice and my secret ingredient (more like secret weapon), sugar.
Editor’s Note:
My mother always says, “Don’t panic if your dish end up too spicy. Always have sugar at bay and sprinkle a pinch in to neutralize the spiciness”. Works like magic, everytime.
Instead of spaghetti, I attempted to cook with Penne pasta mainly because it’s easier to flip & stir around in the pan as compared to long strands of spaghetti, which equals to less mess around the stove for me. However, I’ve come to realise that penne is much thicker in texture and does not absorb as well, hence I wouldn’t recommend it, and its best to stick with the usual spaghetti or thinner angel hair pasta. See recipe below:
Serves 2-3 adults
INGREDIENTS
- 8pcs Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined – You can always add in as many as you like. The more the merrier!
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- Generous drizzles of Extra-Virgin Olive oil
- Chilli Paprika Flakes – Red Pepper Flakes works just as fine too
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped – I always chop more just incase I need additional flavouring mid-cooking
- A packet (or two!) of Fresh Parsley – for taste & garnishing
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – I use store-bought packet ones and they work just as well.
- A handful of Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in halves
- 1/2 a packet of Penne Pasta – stick with spaghetti like the pro’s recommend, it does work better
- 2 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter – essential for good, creamy texture
- Salt, to taste
- Sugar/ Cane Sugar – my damage control weapon for when it gets a tad bit too spicy
TO PREP
- Peel, clean and dry shrimps with a kitchen towel. Set aside. I usually have my shrimps pre-peeled at the supermarket which saves me plenty of prepping time.
- Pasta goes into the boiling water. Sprinkle with some salt. Once ready, drain water and set aside, I prefer mine Al-dente for that crunchy bite since I don’t have much protein in this pasta.
- Chop your Garlic, Tomatoes, Parsley and set aside. If you’d like to include mushrooms, now’s the time to chop and have them ready as well.
- Squeeze half a lemon juice into a small bowl and set aside. If you like a more tangy feel, one whole lemon should be fine.
DIRECTIONS
Step 1: Preheat non-stick pan/pot over low heat and drizzle a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil.
Step 2: Start by adding two cloves of chopped garlic. Once the garlic starts to brown, remove from pan and set aside. This step is essential to prevent the garlic from burning.
Step 3: Add about a teaspoon of Chilli Paprika Flakes. I’ll be adding loads of this gradually as its our main taste factor for this dish.
Step 4: Toss shrimp into the pan over medium high heat. Cook for 3 minutes until just pink and set aside.
Step 5: Return pan to medium low heat and add in chopped tomatoes, and lemon juice. I like to gradually stir so both the lemon and tomato juices mix well for that extra zest.
Step 6: In goes the boiled pasta, followed by the rest of the garlic.
Step 7: Taste test! Here’s where I make sure to drizzle generous amounts of olive oil and extra chilli paprika flakes, and season with salt. Be sure to taste as you’re cooking so the dish doesn’t end up too spicy. If that does happen, add some sugar to help balance out the spiciness.
Step 8: Toss the shrimp back into the pan, and finish with lots and lots of Parsley and grated Parmesan. I used store-bought grated parmesan and it works just fine.
I served our pasta with leftover veggies and fish, keeping with the seafood theme. Otherwise, a fruity arugula salad, a nice warm baguette and garlic butter spread would be the perfect accompaniment.
I was feeling really thirsty by the end of the cooking (and cleaning), so I thinly sliced half-a-lemon and tossed them into a jug of warm water. So refreshing! If White wine is your go-to guilty pleasure, I’m sure it’ll go well with this pasta.
Enjoy! and let me know what are other ways you cook your Aglio Olio. Oh, and if my Italian brother-in-law is reading this, I’m sorry for somewhat butchering the original aglio olio recipe with penne and sugar. Well, at least I didn’t throw in sambal…..maybe next time?
Just kidding.
xx, alyia