Penne Alla Betsy

We are so fortunate living close to the Gulf Coast that we always have delicious fresh caught shrimp year round . I do love shrimp and when I saw on Ree Drummond 's program, The Pioneer Woman when she prepared this dish I thought it sounded really good . I do love a good pasta dish as well so I knew it had to be good with two of my favorites , shrimp and pasta .

Ree named this recipe Penne Alla Betsy because the recipe was given to her by a dear friend . She printed the recipe in her first cookbook .

Penne Alla Betsy

1 pound penne pasta
1 pound large shrimp
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
One 14.5-ounce tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
Milk for thinning
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil . Cook the penne until al dente (firm yet tender) . Drain and set aside .

Begin by peeling and deveining the shrimp and rinsing them under cold water .

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil . When the pan is hot, add the shrimp . Stir and cook on both sides until it is just starting to turn opaque, about 2 minutes . Remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly .

Next , finely chop the onion. In a large skillet over medium heat add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil . Add the garlic and onion . Stir to combine and cook , stirring occasionally , until the onion is translucent , about 3 minutes . Pour the wine into the pan . Stir and allow it to evaporate, about 45 seconds . Pour in the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low . Pour in the cream and stir well to combine ; reduce the heat to simmer .

Add the shrimp to the sauce and stir gently to combine .

My Notes : I added to the sauce about 3/4 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese . Also , after adding the shrimp and pasta I placed the entire mixture into a 13 X 9 serving dish , topped it with a little more Parmesan cheese and placed it in a 350 degree oven just until it browned a little on top . I also think the white wine is essential to this dish . I did not cook the onion and garlic at the same time but let the onion cook for a little while first and then added the garlic for the last couple of minutes so as not to let the garlic burn . I cooked the dish all in the same sauce pan , a 10-inch deep saucepan . I wanted to have the flavor from cooking the shrimp that I thought would add so much to it and it did .

 

I thought this was an amazingly delicious dish and one I will prepare over and over again .

 

 

If I were to rewrite this recipe with just a couple of minor changes I would simply call it Shrimp and Pasta with Béchamel Sauce . It was sooooooooo yummy .

 

 

 Pared with a simple Mixed Green Salad it made for an excellent summer dinner . It isn't exactly light in calories but it does not taste so very heavy and another plus was that it went together effortlessly but yet delicious .







I hope you will try this recipe , you won't be disappointed .

I am linking this post to Foodie Friday, you can click HERE to see other wonderful recipes shared .