Alfredo with Shrimp and Mushrooms
I made this for dinner last night with my mother. Alfredo's one of those things that's so easy to make, but we only do it a couple times a year. This is in no way a light dish, let's be clear. The key is to leave the sauce alone, with minimal stirring, so the cream can thicken.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta
1 stick butter
10 cloves garlic, minced (with 1 tbsp. reserved)
2 c. heavy cream
1 - 1 1/2 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 - 1 1/2 lb. mushrooms, rough chopped
1 c. shredded Parmesan, plus more for the table
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon zest (optional)
Parsley, minced (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Set your pasta water to boil with a healthy pinch of salt and cook the pasta by package directions throughout this process. It should be ready in the strainer just a few minutes before everything else.
2. Melt the stick of butter on medium-high and add all but the 1 tbsp. of garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the cream and stir to combine. Let that come to a simmer and stir only occasionally while the cream thickens.
3. Melt about 1 tbsp. of butter or fat of your choice in another pan on medium-high heat. Add the remaining garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add your mushrooms and saute until done, about 5 - 8 minutes. They may release a lot of liquid; you want to cook this down.
4. Check your sauce. It's thick enough when you can coat the back of a spoon easily and it's noticeably lost moisture. Take it off the heat and add your Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Add the shrimp to the mushrooms. It may take longer, depending on how big your shrimp are. Mine were huge so it took about 3 - 5 minutes to cook them.
6. Take the shrimp mixture off the heat. Pour your sauce into the shrimp and mix well.
7. Shake out your pasta and put it in a large pasta bowl. Pour the sauce-shrimp mixture on top and toss to combine. Now would be the time to garnish with the zest or parsley.
I used Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle and it was fantastic. The shrimp were huge tiger shrimp from Costco, but you can use whatever. I used chanterelles, which are both hard to find and expensive, so use whatever. I suggest oyster mushrooms as a substitution.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta
1 stick butter
10 cloves garlic, minced (with 1 tbsp. reserved)
2 c. heavy cream
1 - 1 1/2 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 - 1 1/2 lb. mushrooms, rough chopped
1 c. shredded Parmesan, plus more for the table
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon zest (optional)
Parsley, minced (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Set your pasta water to boil with a healthy pinch of salt and cook the pasta by package directions throughout this process. It should be ready in the strainer just a few minutes before everything else.
2. Melt the stick of butter on medium-high and add all but the 1 tbsp. of garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the cream and stir to combine. Let that come to a simmer and stir only occasionally while the cream thickens.
3. Melt about 1 tbsp. of butter or fat of your choice in another pan on medium-high heat. Add the remaining garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add your mushrooms and saute until done, about 5 - 8 minutes. They may release a lot of liquid; you want to cook this down.
4. Check your sauce. It's thick enough when you can coat the back of a spoon easily and it's noticeably lost moisture. Take it off the heat and add your Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Add the shrimp to the mushrooms. It may take longer, depending on how big your shrimp are. Mine were huge so it took about 3 - 5 minutes to cook them.
6. Take the shrimp mixture off the heat. Pour your sauce into the shrimp and mix well.
7. Shake out your pasta and put it in a large pasta bowl. Pour the sauce-shrimp mixture on top and toss to combine. Now would be the time to garnish with the zest or parsley.
I used Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle and it was fantastic. The shrimp were huge tiger shrimp from Costco, but you can use whatever. I used chanterelles, which are both hard to find and expensive, so use whatever. I suggest oyster mushrooms as a substitution.