Try this Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 garlic clove
- s&p to taste
- 3/4 lb fettuccine or penne pasta
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/3 cup white wine (i used ste chapelle chardonay ~$6)
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- sprinkle of paprika
- parsley or basil for garnish if desired
- Carbohydrate 2.02847481679529 g
- Cholesterol 181.09999762814 mg
- Fat 29.343546215022 g
- Fiber 0.0104999995231628 g
- Protein 16.7802663085312 g
- Saturated Fat 13.2960988326455 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (188g)
- Sodium 175.647229083185 mg
- Sugar 2.01797481727213 g
- Trans Fat 1.85171931368926 g
- Calories 338 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook ¾ lb fettuccini noodles in salted water according to package instructions and drain. Don't rinse (this helps the sauce stick to the noodles better).
- Lightly season shrimp with salt, pepper and paprika. Preheat a large skillet to med/high and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add shrimp in a single layer and cook 1-2 min per side or just until fully cooked and no longer translucent. They should be golden/pink on the outside and opaque white on the inside. Don't over-do it or they will be rubbery. Remove shrimp to a separate bowl.
- In same pan, over medium/high heat, add 2 Tbsp butter and onion and sauté onion till golden. Stir in garlic and sauté another minute. Stir in â…“ cup white wine and reduce to 25% scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.
- Stir in Cream and simmer for 2 min. Next, sprinkle the top with â…“ cup parmesan (or add to taste) and stir until creamy and smooth. Add about ¼ tsp paprika and season with S&P to taste.
- Turn off heat and stir back in the cooked shrimp and drained (un-rinsed pasta). Garnish with parsley, basil, extra parmesan or freshly cracked pepper if desired.
Heavy cream drives this entire dish, acting as the structural foundation for a rich emulsion that coats every strand of pasta. Achieving the right consistency relies on simmering the cream for precisely two minutes after reducing the white wine by seventy-five percent, which burns off excess alcohol and concentrates the aromatics. When scaling this recipe upward for larger gatherings, use a wide twelve-inch skillet rather than a deep pot to maximize surface area and ensure the cream reduces evenly without scorching the dairy solids.
Scaling Proportions and Pan Mechanics
Doubling dairy quantities requires careful attention to heat control. Maintain a medium-high flame during the initial reduction phase, then drop the temperature immediately upon adding the parmesan cheese to prevent the fat from separating into an oily film. If substituting half-and-half for heavy whipping cream to reduce richness, the sauce will fail to cling properly to the fettuccine because the lower fat content lacks the necessary thickening threshold.Shrimp Cooking Dynamics
Cooking shrimp takes one to two minutes per side in a preheated pan with one tablespoon of oil, signaling doneness when the exterior turns pink and the interior shifts from translucent to an opaque white. Overcooking results in a rubbery texture, so remove the crustaceans promptly at the two-minute mark. Tossing the unrinsed pasta directly into the warm cream sauce leverages remaining surface starches to bind everything into a cohesive, glossy coating.
