LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS PASTA. I’ve experimented a good bit with pasta dishes over the years, and this recipe just jumped to the top of the rankings in originality, flavor, presentation, and sophistication. Like a loaded Spanish seafood paella crossed with simple Italian fork-twirling bliss.
It starts with crispy sautéed chorizo and seared wild shrimp. Then blistered sweet plump grape tomatoes, cremini and shiitake mushrooms, onions and garlic transformed into a pan sauce with a splash of white wine, mascarpone cream, and starchy pasta water. The kick is a generous sprinkle of saffron and a pinch of smoked paprika for the beautiful amber-red hue and explosion of flavor. Tossed with al dente whole grain linguine and finished with a touch of lemon, parsley, and plenty of parmigiano-reggiano.
This is also deceptively simple and ridiculously quick to make. The chorizo and shrimp cook in no more than 3-4 minutes, then the tomato mushroom pan sauce comes through soaking up all the yummy flavors in the same skillet as you boil the linguine.
Creamy Grape Tomato Saffron Linguine with Shrimp and Chorizo
Ingredients
- 4 oz uncooked linguine (whole grain if available)
- ~3 cups water for boiling pasta
- ~1/2 tsp salt for pasta water
- ~1 cup reserved pasta water
- 1-2 oz uncooked ground chorizo
- 6-8 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1.5 tsp olive oil
- ~5 oz grape tomatoes, sliced into halves or thirds width-wise
- 6 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small yellow or sweet onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- generous pinch saffron threads, crushed
- ground black pepper (and/or cayenne), to taste
- 1 Tbsp white wine
- 1-2 Tbsp mascarpone
- 1/2 oz parmigiano-reggiano, freshly shredded, plus extra for topping
- sqeeze fresh lemon juice
- ~1 tsp chopped fresh or lightly dried parsley
- sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Boil linguine in about 3 cups water with 1/2 tsp salt until al dente (7-8 minutes). Reserve ~1 cup pasta water, then drain.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add ground chorizo; cook until browned while crumbling in the skillet. Then add shrimp and cook about 2 minutes per side, or until opaque. Remove chorizo and shrimp and set aside.
- In the same skillet, reduce heat to low. Add 1.5 tsp olive oil and swirl to coat. Add grape tomatoes cut side down. Cook undisturbed about 5 minutes. Then stir in mushrooms, onion, garlic, a generous pinch salt and pepper; increase heat to medium and sear ~2 minutes.
- Deglaze with white wine. Add smoked paprika and saffron. Continue to cook until vegetables are tender.
- Reduce heat to low. Add mascarpone and ~1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Stir to form a sauce, adding more pasta water as needed. Stir in linguine, chorizo and shrimp, parmesan, lemon, parsley, and sea salt to taste.
- Divide between 2 pasta bowls. Top with additional parmesan.