Linguine with Grilled Shrimp, Part 3

So far, so good, right?   

You have made your Marinara sauce.

You have made your Garlic Herb Butter and rolled it into a log shape to store it.

Now comes the time to put it all together!! So, following along the Italian flag theme, we have our red and our green stripes.  

Now comes The White Stripe:  

That’s just a white sauce that can be made in one of three ways depending on your sensibilities. The first, and simplest, is just to boil some heavy cream (use about ¼ cup per person – and let it reduce by half until slightly thickened).

You will be tossing the cooked linguine into this sauce when plating your dish. (Please scroll down to the end of this post for the other two alternatives). 

Finishing the Garlic Herb Butter Sauce: 

No matter which of the versions of white sauce you will be using to toss the pasta in, you need to finish the garlic herb sauce as follows: Heat up some heavy cream in a saucepan, and then whisk the garlic herb butter into the cream. For 4 servings use about ¼ cup cream plus about ½ cup of the garlic herb butter. 

The Shrimp: Use the biggest and freshest your budget will allow.  Peel and devein them (leaving the tail shell on). Toss them with a marinade of chopped fresh garlic and herbs if you want a little extra flavor (let them sit about an hour, or even just a few minutes). Season them with some salt and pepper. Grill them if you have a grill handy, or just sauté them. Either way, after cooking, keep them warm (but not over direct heat) in the Garlic Herb Butter Sauce.  

Cooking the Pasta: 

Of course while the shrimp are cooking you need to cook your linguine. How much pasta is up to you but the general rule of thumb is 4 servings per pound of pasta. For this dish I would plan on getting 6 servings per pound because it is fairly rich. Remember to use a large pot with plenty of water when cooking pasta. It needs room to move around a little.

Also, be sure to add salt to the water – it should taste slightly salty. And cook it to the doneness that you like, but remember that “al dente” doesn’t mean that it gets stuck in your teeth when you eat it! 

To Assemble the Dish: 

Heat your Marinara sauce and keep warm. Reduce your heavy cream or heat your white sauce if you haven’t already done so). Toss the linguine in the white sauce. At the restaurant we twist the linguine into a tube shape with a large kitchen fork and place it on each plate.

Remove the shrimp from the sauce and place them on top of cooked linguine. Spoon a ribbon of each sauce on the plate as indicated in the photo at the top of the page (click on it for a larger view) using the rest of the garlic herb sauce in the pan for the green stripe. 

  Weekday Dinner Alternate Presentation: You could also do a much simpler dish for a weekday dinner by just tossing your pasta with your Marinara sauce then spooning the shrimp over the pasta followed by the remaining garlic herb sauce. You can skip the cream sauce entirely for this presentation.  

Either way, it’s a delicious dish, and I hope you will try it and let me know how you liked it. Please also comment if any part of the recipe is unclear.  

Remember, The Chef’s Got Your Back.  

* As Promised – White Sauce Alternatives: 

1)   Simple white sauce – I make it using whole milk thickened with a roux (equal parts flour and melted butter – you need about 1T. roux per 2 cups of milk – or until it’s about the consistency of heavy cream).   

2)  Lower Fat White Sauce – use cornstarch (diluted with just enough water to make it pourable) which you whisk into boiling 2% or nonfat milk (use the same ratio as for roux – about 1T. per 2 cups of milk). That will give you the feeling of eating a creamy sauce without the calories.