Vermicelli with Shrimp and Fresh Herbs
Servings: 3 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh or frozen E-Z peel shrimp
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, and added at various stages [see direction below]
- 4-5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 6 medium shallots
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 cup loosely packed herbs [dill, parsley, basil, cilantro, and chives, or any combo that you like]
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 lb. vermicelli
Instructions
- Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on if desired. Blot dry with paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Set aside.
- Place all of the herbs in a pile, on a cutting board, and chop through them with a chef's knife, pushing them back into a pile as needed, until they are uniformly chopped into smallish pieces, but not quite what you would call minced. You should have around 1/2 cup.
- Get a 3-quart pan of salted water on high heat for cooking the pasta.
- In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
- Peel the shallots, cut in half the long way and then in 1/4 inch slices - you should have about 1/2 cup.
- Add the shallots, about 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes to the melted butter, and lower the heat.
- Cover the pan and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, until shallots are very soft, stirring once or twice.
- Raise the heat, and add the shrimp, in a single layer. Cook about 2 minutes on the first side.
- When you put the shrimp in the pan, get the pasta in the now-boiling water; if you are using vermicelli, that usually takes 5 to 6 minutes to get to the al dente stage, so keep an eye on it.
- Turn all of the shrimp over [tongs make this easier], and cook another minute.
- Add the additional 2 tablespoons of butter, and the half and half, and bring up to a simmer.
- Add the herbs and stir to combine. Taste a little of the liquid and add salt if needed.
- When it's done, drain the pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Stir the pasta into the shrimp and sauce. Add small amounts of the pasta cooking liquid if needed, to ensure there is a light sauce.
- Cut the lemon in half. Cut 1/2 of the lemon into narrow wedges. Squeeze the juice from the other half and add to pasta. Put the wedges in a small serving bowl to pass at the table as needed.
- Serve in a large shallow bowl, or fill plates in the kitchen. You can snip chives over the top if desired.
- Refrigerate leftovers.