Many years ago, I worked in a local "Italian" restaurant, complete with Romanesque ruins, where they served one of my favorite guilty pleasures, gamberetti fra diablo, a pasta dish with shrimp in a creamy, spicy tomato sauce. One of my readers asked me a few weeks ago if I had a recipe, and I did come up with one, and then today, while Googling it, I discovered a website, complete with a recipe. I decided to write mine out, and then head over and see how I compared to the real thing, which is at the bottom of the page. This restaurant now has numerous locations, including New Orleans, which is why the link to website withe the recipe is a New Orleans TV station.
Gamberetti Fra Diablo (my recipe) serves 2
8 ounces shrimp
4 ounces penne
1 small yellow onion, small dice
4 cloves crushed garlic
salt
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes, juices included
1 bay leaf
2 sticks oregano (1 tbsp fresh/1 tsp dried)
1-2 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes - according to taste, but you really do want it to be spicy
A few dashes Tabasco
1/2 - 1 cup heavy cream
handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, halved (or one tomato, cored and cut into chunks)
In a large pot of salted water, boil the shrimp for 3 minutes, or until they are just opaque; remove from water and set aside. Add the penne to the water and prepare according to package directions.
In a large saute pan set over medium heat, sweat the onions until they are translucent, then stir in the garlic and sprinkle with salt. Stir for about 30 seconds, then deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock and the red wine. Reduce for about 2 minutes, or until reduced by 1/2, and then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and Tabasco to taste. Simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until the sauce has become very thick and there is no juicy liquid. Add the cream slowly, until you reach your desired "lightness," then add the shrimp and the tomatoes, stir for about a minute, until the sauce begins to simmer again, and then add the pasta. Toss to coat and server with more red pepper flakes on the side. *Side note* I feel like I should mention that after boiling the shrimp, I sauteed them separately in butter and then added them to the pasta. In the interest of saving time, I eliminated that step from my recipe here, although now that I see they added lobster butter, I know why I thought the flavor of a touch of butter was important.
Their recipe:
"10 Louisiana shrimp
1/2 ounce blended olive oil
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 ounces marinara sauce
4 ounces alfredo sauce
1 ounce lobster butter (1/2 tsp. lobster base incorporated with unsalted butter)
1 pinch salt and pepper
7 ounces cooked penne pasta
Heat blended oil in pan, add shrimp and cook halfway. Add garlic and pepper flakes, and saute. Add marinara and alfredo, then simmer. Add lobster butter and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Add hot pasta to pan and toss well. Tower in center of pasta bowl. Garnish plate with chopped parsley.
And of course, you can add additional flavor to any Louisiana Seafood recipe with a few shakes of TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce."
