I have been making this angel hair pasta with shrimp for over a decade now. The first time I tried this dish was at a Pasta Pomodoro in Bay Area. My husband loved this dish so much that I ended up creating a recipe for it and making it ever since. This dish has become one of my family’s favorites. Since it’s not a Persian dish, I’ve created a section under my recipe index called “My Family’s Favorites” to include all the recipes that I’ve created and been cooking for my family over the years. I often make this dish with chicken breast since shrimps are high in cholesterol. Any combination of fresh vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus and eggplants works in this recipe. Fresh tomatoes, when in season, would taste even better in this recipe. This recipe can be made vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. This is a keeper recipe, trust me!
Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ready in: 45 min
Yields: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion peeled and diced
4 garlic gloves peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
One 14.5 ounce diced Italian seasoned or plain canned tomatoes drained with juice reserved
1 cup chicken stock (vegetable for vegetarian and vegan version)
3 cups chopped zucchini
1 pound angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a deep large frying pan, sauté zucchinis in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate, set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan. Add chopped onions and cook on medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, fresh chopped basil and seasonings.
Drain tomatoes reserving the liquid. Add tomatoes to the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the liquid evaporates and the tomatoes fry a little adding color to the oil. This is the step where the deep flavors develop. Add chicken or vegetable stock and the reserved tomato juice.
Bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced in half.
To cook the pasta, bring 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on medium-high heat. Strain pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Use this water later on if the pasta is too dry or al dente.
Add pasta and zucchinis to the sauce. Toss and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil.
To cook the shrimps, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 clove chopped garlic in a sauté pan. Add shrimps and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the shrimps over and turn off the heat. The heat from the pan will continue cooking the shrimps.
Top pasta with shrimps and serve.
Or use fresh tomatoes and vegetables of your choice.
Mastering Persian Cooking 