Shrimp Zucchini Pasta Puttanesca
Try this Shrimp Zucchini Pasta Puttanesca recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Shrimp Zucchini Pasta Puttanesca recipe, or contribute your own.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 2 medium zucchinis blade c noodles trimmed
- 3 anchovy filets
- 1 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes
- 1.5 tablespoons capers
- 3 tablespoons halved kalamata (or green) olives
- 1.5 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley + more to garnish
- 10-12 medium shrimp deveined shells removed
- Carbohydrate 0.980343593627539 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 3.31602359373279 g
- Fiber 0.348724999762341 g
- Protein 0.276808906271278 g
- Saturated Fat 0.468779937495805 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (12g)
- Sodium 228.379505290258 mg
- Sugar 0.631618593865198 g
- Trans Fat 0.110999406250431 g
- Calories 33 calories
Step-by-step
- Place a large saucepan over medium-low heat and add in the olive oil. Once the oil heats, add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and anchovy filets. Cook for 1 minute, allowing the anchovies to mainly dissolve, and then add in the tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you add them into the saucepan. Make sure to pour all of the juices from the can into the saucepan.
- Stir the tomatoes and add in the capers, olives, parsley, oregano and season with salt and pepper. Add in the shrimp, cover and cook about 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. Uncover, remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon or pasta tongs and set aside on a plate.
- Let the mixture reduce fully, about 10 minutes. Once reduced, add in the shrimp and zucchini noodles and cook for 3 minutes, tossing frequently, or until zucchini cooks to al dente.
- Portion the pasta into bowls and garnish each with additional parsley. Enjoy!
Thirty minutes total time requires strict sequencing because proteins and high-water vegetables cook at vastly different rates. Anchovies melt into warm extra virgin olive oil within sixty seconds, building the savory base before whole canned tomatoes enter the pan. Medium shrimp require exactly five minutes of gentle poaching in tomato juices before removal; leaving them in longer results in rubbery seafood. Crushing whole tomatoes by hand yields uneven pieces that thicken into a rich sauce during a ten-minute reduction phase, whereas pureed tomatoes would release too much liquid and water down the dish. Zucchini noodles join the pan only during the final three minutes, ensuring they retain structure rather than turning soggy.
Managing Moisture and Texture
Zucchini releases copious amounts of water when exposed to salt and heat. High heat drives off surface moisture rapidly, but overcrowding the pan traps steam and destroys the required al dente bite. Toss the noodles continuously during their brief three-minute cooking window to distribute heat evenly across every strand. Drain canned whole tomatoes thoroughly of excess liquid if the sauce appears overly watery prior to reduction. Salt the sauce conservatively at the start because briny capers and kalamata olives concentrate significantly as the liquid reduces.
- Shrimp overcook quickly; remove them immediately when they turn opaque and curl into a loose c-shape.
- Zucchini noodles can be blotted with paper towels before cooking to remove excess surface moisture.
- Substitute green olives directly for kalamata olives at a one-to-one ratio without altering the salt balance.
