Shrimp Alfredo

*Post by Angela.

As much as I try to be relatively healthy with my diet, sometimes my body just screams out for something unhealthy. Something bursting with carbs, and butter, and cream, and cheese. You don't get much more indulgent than fettucini alfredo, which is exactly what I was craving the other night, along with a dose of seafood. There are a lot of recipes for this Italian favorite; mine is a kind of slapdash of all of them put together.

List of ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp dried red pepper flakes
• 2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb fettucini
• 2 cups warmed heavy cream
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

First I started the water for the pasta and got that going. I melted 1 tbsp of the butter with a tbsp of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, and sauteed the onions for 5 minutes, until they started to become translucent. I added half the garlic and red pepper flakes, and sauteed another 5 minutes.

I added the shrimp and cooked just until they had turned pink, about 3-5 minutes. I didn't cook the shrimp all the way through, because I knew the residual heat would keep cooking them, and I hate overcooking shrimp. I removed the pan from heat and set it aside. At this point, I also drained my pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the water.

In a pot, I heated the remaining butter and olive oil over medium heat, and sauteed the remaining garlic for just a couple of minutes.

I added the flour and whisked vigorously for 1 minute to create a roux to thicken the sauce.

I whisked in the cream, and continued stirring until the sauce had just come to a boil. I reduced the heat to simmer, then added the parmesan, a little salt and a bunch of freshly ground black pepper. I also may or may not have added in more red pepper flakes (I'm a heat fiend, you know that).

 

I added the shrimp and onion mixture to the pot, stirred, then added drained pasta and 1/2 cup of the water from the pasta to thin the sauce a little (you can add more or less depending on your tastes), and tossed it all together. I served it up with a little chopped fresh parsley, then dived into this supremely delicious and supremely unhealthy dish, and promptly fell into a contented food coma on my couch...