Take a trip on the Spice Road! This shrimp dish is bursting with exotic flavors, including preserved lemon, Aleppo pepper, and sumac.
The Spice Road was an overland route from China to the Mediterranean from 130 BCE to 1500 CE. Merchants brought Asian and Middle Eastern spices to Europe, changing the culinary world forever. There were also the Maritime Spice Routes, which traveled the seas carrying spices from Southeast Asia, India, East Africa, and North Africa all the way through the Mediterranean as far as northern Spain.
(The next big change flavor shift in the world came with the colonization of the Americas, with brought chile peppers to the rest of the world. But that's another story for another recipe!)
If you like this recipe, be sure to try my Moroccan-Spiced Shrimp Fettuccini too!
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Ingredients
Here's the cast of characters: pasta, shrimp, Parmesan cheese, butter, garlic, lemon juice, preserved lemon, parsley, sumac, and Aleppo pepper.
- Pasta
- Shrimp
- Garlic
- Preserved lemon - lemons fermented in salt with sour, salty, and umami flavors
- Aleppo pepper - fruity, earthy, and mildly sweet, with a medium heat level
- Sumac - a spice that's a cross between lemon and a smokey flavor, with floral and earthy notes
- Parmesan cheese
- Lemon juice
- Parsley
(See the recipe card for quantities.)
Instructions
Here's how to make it!
Add the preserved lemon, garlic, and spices to a large pan.
Saute them for a few minutes until the preserved lemon softens a bit.
Add the shrimp and saute until they just start to turn opaque. They're going to continue to cook when you stir in the pasta and make the sauce!
Add the pasta and stir everything together. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of the pasta water and stir for a few minutes to coat everything and let the sauce reduce.
Add ½ cup of Parmesan cheese and toss until the cheese is melted. Add another ½ cup of pasta water, 2 tablespoons of butter, and ½ cup of Parmesan. Stir until the sauce is the consistency you want, adding more pasta water if necessary. (Note: This will be a thin sauce.)
Sprinkle with parsley and serve! Put extra parsley, Parmesan, Aleppo pepper, and sumac on the table so people can add more of the flavors they like!
Pro Tip: If you're using frozen shrimp you'll need to defrost them. I take them out of the freezer in the morning and empty the bag into a colander over a large bowl. When they've thawed out there will be a lot of "shrimp juice" in the bowl. Don't pour that down the drain! Add it to the water when you're cooking the pasta, it will add a bit more flavor to the pasta.
Substitutions/Variations
- Shrimp - This recipe would be fantastic with chicken or pork tenderloin.
- Preserved lemon - This ingredient adds a surprise burst of salty, savory, and umami flavor. You could substitute capers, chopped olives, or chopped cornichons (tart French pickles made from gherkins pickled in vinegar and tarragon) for a similar effect.
- Pasta - Serve the shrimp with rice, couscous, mashed potatoes, or over polenta or grits for a cross-cultural version of shrimp and grits!
Equipment
You'll only need a few things to make this recipe.
- A large pot for cooking the pasta
- A large pan or Dutch oven for cooking the shrimp and mixing in the pasta
- A mixing spoon
Bon Appetit!
How do you like my use of "negative space" on the plate? Don't worry, I'm not going to turn into a food stylist. If I was doing that I would add some flowers and dots of some kind of beautiful sauce. But seriously, turn that into "positive space" by adding a salad to complete the meal.
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📖 Recipe Card
Middle Eastern Flavored Shrimp and Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta such as rigatoni, penne, or radiatori
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ¼ cup preserved lemon finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes or other red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon sumac
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup parsley finely chopped
- Additional Parmesan cheese, parsley, Aleppo pepper, and sumac for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.1 pound pasta, Kosher salt
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and season lightly with kosher salt.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, preserved lemon, pepper flakes, and sumac. Cook, stirring often, until the lemon is softened, about 2 minutes.¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 6 cloves garlic, ¼ cup preserved lemon, ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon sumac
- Add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, until just opaque, about 2 minutes.1 pound large shrimp
- Add the pasta, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing to coat the shrimp, until the butter is melted and sauce is thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.2 tablespoons butter
- Add the ½ cup of Parmesan cheese and toss until melted.½ cup Parmesan cheese
- Add ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid, 2 tablespoons of butter, and another ½ cup finely grated Parmesan and cook, stirring vigorously and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until the sauce is thickened and coats the pasta, about 1 minute.2 tablespoons butter, ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- Mix in the lemon juice and parsley.1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, ⅓ cup parsley
- Divide the pasta among shallow bowls. Top with more Parmesan and parsley.Additional Parmesan cheese, parsley, Aleppo pepper, and sumac
Nutrition Estimate
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