The good thing about working near Eataly NYC, is shopping there and picking up pasta of all different shapes and sizes. Every week I cook pasta – dry or fresh. Breaking away from cooking fresh pasta for the past few weeks, I tried cooking some dried pasta from Afeltra. A bag that caught my eye was Afeltra Calamari. With its thick rings which resembled calamari, I thought it would have been great cooked with large shrimp. And then I came across Eataly’s description of the pasta:
“Named for their squid-ring shape, calamari are inspired by the Mediterranean Sea and delicious paired with seafood sauces. Afeltra still dries each pasta ring near the seaside of Gragnano.” – Eataly
Calamari Pasta with Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 bag of Afeltra Calamari pasta
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 handful of fresh basil leaves, washed, dried and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup pasta water
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Directions
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for about 1 minute, stirring often. Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, or get too brown. If you overcook it, it will taste bitter.
- Next, sauté the shrimp until pink and cooked through.
- Add the cooked pasta and mix everything together. Add the pasta water in small amounts.
- Add basil. Stir again.
- Plate the pasta, enough for four people.
- Season with fresh pepper and top with the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Adding salt is optional as the cheese will provide enough salt to the pasta.
