Delicious Shrimp Marinara Recipe

A Great Christmas Party Pasta Dish  - Shrimp Pasta Marinara

   

  My friend, Olivia, asked me yesterday what pasta dish she should prepare for her family this coming Christmas Eve.  Spaghetti seems to be the staple pasta dish for Filipino families and just like Olivia,some of you might just be tired preparing this same dish every birthday or get-together party.  

    I know a few pasta dishes, but since my friend wants something simple, then I suggested Pasta Marinara.  To add a bit of flair, I decided to throw in some shrimps into the sauce as well and the combination of the sauce and shrimp flavors are just heavenly!

  In case you wonder how different Pasta Marinara is from Spaghetti, I think it would be the flavor of the sauce.  Of course, both are tomato based, but Marinara has a tangy taste to it.  My Spaghetti Bolognese is also quite different from the Filipino sweet version, which recipe I will be posting as soon as I'm done with what I must blog about now.  But going back to today's focus, let me walk you through the steps of making an excellent Pasta Marinara dish. 

   Just like any other pasta preparations, the secret is in the sauce, so if there's anything you should focus on perfecting, that would be it!

What You'll Need:

To Make the Marinara Sauce

    1/4 Kilo shrimp, peeled and deveined

    2 cloves of minced garlic 

    olive oil

    salt

    pepper

    

    2 tsps minced garlic

    1 medium-sized white onion, chopped roughly

    a tsp of olive oil

    a tsp of canola oil or vegetable oil

    1 cup  Ram Spanish Style tomato sauce 

    dried oregano

     salt

    garlic powder

    1-2 tsp worcestershire sauce 

    1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

    Tabasco

    green olives, chopped 

    parsley, chopped

    8 regular sized ripe tomatoes, chopped

What to Do

1.  Saute shrimp in oil and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Do not overcook.   Set aside. 

2.  Now, to make the sauce, in a pan, place olive and canola oil to saute garlic and onion.  Cook until onion is translucent.  

3.  Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them properly to extract the sauce.  Add oregano, a pinch of salt and sprinkle with garlic powder.

4. When tomatoes are beautifully cooked, add the tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce.  Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.  

5 Add more garlic powder, parsley, brown sugar, Tabasco and salt if necessary. . You may add some of the shrimps prepared earlier (if there are extras) into the prepared sauce, but make sure to leave about 10 pcs for garnish. If there aren't any extras, that's fine and just reserve the shrimp for garnish.  Check taste to perfection. 

6. When done, turn off heat and set sauce aside. 

To Make the Pasta

What You'll Need

    fetuccine or penne pasta    (amount depends on the number of people you want to serve.)

    vegetable oil

    a pinch of salt

    peppermill

    parmesan cheese, grated

    parsley, chopped

    olive oil

What to Do

1.  Fill a pot with water and amount depends on how much pasta you want to make.  Make sure water is enough to submerge the whole pasta later on.

2.  Add a pinch of salt and a tsp of vegetable oil to water and heat to boil. 

3. When water starts to boil, add pasta.  Cook until al dente.

4.  Pour lukewarm water and drain well.  Put in a mixing bowl. 

5.  Sprinkle a  bit of olive oil, peppermill, parsely and parmesan cheese. Toss lightly using your hands.  Handle gently to avoid damaging the cooked pasta.  

6. Cover bowl with cling wrap. Set aside for later use.

To Prepare The Dish

   In a serving dish, arrange the prepared pasta. Then top with sufficient marinara sauce.  Garnish with shrimps, olives and parmesan cheese.  Serve and enjoy! :)