Recipe: Linguini with angry shrimp (Linguine con Gamberi Arrabiati) Recipe adapted from "Cucina del Mare", by Evan Kleiman

I have an Italian seafood cookbook, "Cucina Del Mare" by Evan Kleiman (1993), and enjoy many of the recipes precisely because of their simplicity. It's a great "go-to" mid-week cookbook when we're craving simple, healthy seafood. Why are the shrimp "angry" in this recipe? Possibly because of the red pepper flakes in the ingredient list, though Kleiman doesn't reveal the secret in the recipe's headnote. I hope to mellow their anger, a bit, by using less pepper flakes.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1-3 teaspoons red chili pepper flakes
• 1 28-ounce can imported Italian tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic
• 1 pound medium shrimp, (thawed if frozen), peeled and deveined
• 12 ounces dry best quality spinach or egg linguini
• Fresh chopped basil or Italian parsley

Directions

1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add chili pepper flakes. For mildly spicy, add 1 teaspoon of the pepper flakes (up to 3 teaspoons for very spicy), and as the flakes begin to release their color, add the tomatoes, crushing them between your fingers as you add them to the pan.
2. Stir the tomatoes, mixing well with the oil and chile pepper flakes. Add the tablespoon of garlic, stir, and season sauce to taste with kosher salt. Simmer sauce until tomatoes begin to break down, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the remaining teaspoon garlic and sauté 1 minute, then add shrimp and sauté until just cooked, about 2 minutes.
4. Boil linguini according to package instructions. Drain and immediately toss pasta with shrimp and tomato sauce, chopped basil or parsley, and serve.

 This recipe was adapted by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on March 10, 2010.