We loved this dish! I tweeked the preparation a bit, starting with only two tablespoons of butter, and added about one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. I then added my cajun spice seasoned shimp, sauted for a minute, then the onions and garlic. I added the wine, allowed for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol, and added a can of diced tomatoes, pasta, and spinach. More cajun seasoning, and viola! a smashing dish. Thanks for a great recipe!
We loved this dish. The seasonings 1-1/2 tsp. Louisiana Cajun seasoning and 1 tsp. black pepper were perfect. I did however make a few simple changes to suit our diet and my ease of preparation. Campanelle for the Orecchiette I couldn't find the Orecchiette 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. olive oil a 14 oz. can of Hunt's diced tomatoes drained and a 1 lb. bag of frozen all-ready cooked shelled and deveined shrimp. I think next time I make it I will add 2 - 3 cups of spinach. I really liked it and more would have been nice. The sauce is very light and thin but oh-so flavorful and we liked it that way especially with the warmer summer weather. I will definitely be making this again very soon.
While I thought this was tasty enough Hubs enjoyed this a lot more than I did. For me I would have liked this much better leaving out the Cajun seasoning altogether! I did prepare this a little differently - I coated the shrimp in olive oil and rubbed them with Cajun seasoning (just to my liking didn't measure). I had them set awhile until I was ready to have Hubs throw them on the charcoal grill. Meantime I prepared the pasta and sauce of course without the shrimp and Cajun seasoning. Hubs and I are not big eaters but I found scaling this recipe to three servings was barely enough pasta for the two of us so please keep that in mind! I found I had to add more of the spinach as well - except I used baby arugula since that's what I had in the fridge. I piled the pasta (again wonderful as is without the seasoning!) into big individual pasta bowls then topped it with the grilled shrimp. For those having trouble locating the orecchiette (they're so darned cute!) you'll find it wherever the DeCecco brand of pasta is sold.
Loved this! I only used 2t cajun spice and 1t pepper and our lips are still burning. Soooo good. I added 1c of fresh sliced mushrooms with the shallot/onions/garlic. And I used defrosted cooked shrimp (adding them right at the end to warm through). I will definitely make this dish again!
I keep trying shrimp pasta recipes and finally THIS one turned out! I used canned tomatoes cuz that's all I had and added a couple spoons of tomato paste to thicken it up. I used frozed cooked shrimp and it was soooo good! I used Emeril's BAM seasoning instead of cajun. Not too spicy that way. My 2 year old ate it! Use the right pasta it calls for too. They really soak up the sauce and have a great texture. This is in my top 10! I also doubled the spinach and garlic and green onion.
This dish was outstanding! I modified it just a bit by doing what the last reviewer mentioned: I cooked the pasta (used a different pasta as I couldn't find Orecchiette in the store) then set aside. Then I used a lot less butter (probably 1 1/2 TB) and 1 TB olive oil in the pan. I added the shrimp and cajun (used a full 1 1/2 teaspoons)and sauted for 1 minute. Then i added the onions and garlic and sauted for a few more minutes. Finally i added the canned tomatoes (drained first) then white wine and spinach (increased to 2 - 3 cups of spinach) and pasta. COoked covered for 6 minutes or so and then i was done. I actually forgot the black pepper but there was plenty of spiciness and it wasn't missed. served it to my fiance and mom with crusty garlic bread and salad and it was a winner! Very spicy but not insanely so. For people who love spicy food this is perfect! For people who are more sensitive to spice just reduce cajun seasoning to 1/2 teaspoon. Yum!!!
My family really liked this recipe. I could not find the pasta listed in the recipe so I subbed with tri-color fiori. I added a splash of EVOO minced vidalia in place of shallots and added about 1/4 cup freshly grated asiago and parmesan cheese just before serving. I'm not a seafood fan so I saved a small amount of pasta and tossed with grilled chicken.
Orecchiette are a distinctive Puglian type of pasta shaped roughly like small ears hence the name (orecchio ear orecchiette little ears). They're about 3/4 of an inch across slightly domed and their centers are thinner than their rims a characteristic that gives them an interestingly variable texture soft in the middle and somewhat more chewy outside. I cut down on the spice alot in this recipe too. The family is not real keen on spicey.
I used 1 1/2 TEASPOONS Cajun spice and 1 teaspoon of black pepper allowed the sauce to reduce and served over rice. I felt like a superstar chef. My husband who is a professional chef loved it. I will certainly make this again. It's so easy!
The only changes I made was 1 tbs butter 1 tbs olive oil and defrosted chopped spinach. Both my DH and I thought this dish was "meh." Not bad but not to be put on the list to make again. I feel sort of like I wasted 1 lb of shrimp and a cup of good wine.
