Mmm mm... Penne Arrabbiata with Shrimp
Nothing like a cold and gloomy work week to make you crave an easy and spicy meal. Football season is almost over. My excuse to have a weekend where beer is king will soon be put away until baseball rolls around. So I guess I must enjoy some wine to fill that void, not only on the weekends but during the week too. Well, what could I possibly cook today to make me feel warm after darting between my office to my car to my apartment. Definitely something quick and to the point. Definitely some PASTA.
After digging for some ideas, I come across the perfect answer to dinner thanks to Family Circle. Penne Arrabbiata with Shrimp. I'm pretty sure you could use any kind of pasta besides penne but the Barilla Plus Penne was on sale. By the way, If you haven't tried any of the Barilla Plus pastas, give them a whirl. It is whole wheat pasta, that still cooks in 8-10 mins, and afterwards makes you feel fuller than expected without having a weird health food taste. This has been the pasta of choice at our place for a while now and there really is no reason to go back to regular pasta.
Give it a whirl and at less than 325 calories per serving, there is no reason to mess up your diet.
- 3/4 lb shrimp (31-40 count size)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 cans (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes (zesty or with green chiles for an extra kick)
- 1 can (8 oz) of tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of cayenne (for those thrill seekers)
- Whole Wheat Penne (amount and pasta type is up to you, full box for leftovers)
- 1 bag of Spinach, sliced
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat some canola (poor man's olive oil) in medium-size saucepan. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. You're shooting for clear, soft onion, not black, crisp onion. Add garlic and water; cook 2 minutes.
My girlfriend and I snacked on some french bread with seasoned olive oil. Yeah, this isn't exactly the healthiest appetizer but after a long day, we were craving something as dinner cooked. I'll touch on this little meal down the line. Ok, now back to the sauce.
2. Stir diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, red-pepper flakes, cayenne and oregano into saucepan; simmer, no lid, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
We blended the diced tomatoes to make it more of a sauce but if you prefer it chunky, by all means give it a whirl. Threw it all in and got back to munching on some french bread.
3. Boil some water. Throw the pasta in, cook until al dente, tender but still firm. Drain the pasta.
I usually throw some olive oil and salt in to the water to do two things: Season the pasta and prevent the foamy mess you get from pasta. Like I said before, the whole wheat pasta shouldn't take much longer than regular pasta. Your goal is to cook it al dente. This means that it is soft, not mushy but firm just not uncooked. I'd throw a piece up to the ceiling, if it sticks, you're golden. Just make sure you remember to get the pasta down or else it will be permanently cemented as a decoration for the kitchen.
4. Throw the sliced spinach in to the sauce, cook 5 min. Add salt and
pepper. (Always been a fan of Push it since that hilarious Sprint commercial)Add as much as you want, we definitely didn't use the whole bag and you see what we ended up with.
5. Heat small skillet. Add 3 tbsp of sauce. Add shrimp and cook until pink.
We could have just added the shrimp to the sauce directly but we decided to use the extra sauce for leftovers. And we didn't want to freeze the sauce with shrimp in it.
6. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Add some shrimp to the plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. DONE.
It's such an easy pasta to cook and eat that it's going to become a staple. Or that fancy meal for a special date night. Just don't forget the wine.
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