Shrimp Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 65 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Spaghetti is cooked in shrimp broth before it's combined with a bold and spicy tomato sauce featuring bell pepper, parsley, chile pepper, and large tender shrimp.

Ingredients

20 large shrimp, deveined with shell and head left on
4 tomatoes, or more to taste
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 fresh red chile pepper, finely chopped
4 large cloves garlic, sliced, or more to taste
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 5/8 pounds spaghetti

Directions

1 Peel shrimp and place skin, heads, and tails into a large saucepan. Fill pan with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, about 45 minutes.
2 Combine tomatoes and 1/2 the parsley in a blender; puree until smooth.
3 Heat olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and chile pepper; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
4 Pour pureed tomato mixture into the pan with the peppers. Add water, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir well; add paprika. Let sauce simmer on low to medium heat until juices have reduced.
5 Strain shrimp shells from the water. Bring water back to a boil and add spaghetti. Cook spaghetti, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the rest.
6 In the meantime, add shrimp to the tomato sauce. Add the reserved water, stir well, and cook until shrimp is pink, about 3 minutes. Plate spaghetti and spoon the sauce on top; garnish with the remaining parsley.