Penne a la Betsy Recipe – Shrimp Pasta
I kept seeing this recipe on my favorite cooking website, The Pioneer Woman, but never bothered to check out the ingredients or make it, as frankly, with a name like Penne a la Betsy, I had no idea what it was. Apparently, Betsy is the chef’s sister’s name, and that is who she named this concoction after. Once I saw that shrimp was the main ingredient, I had to give it a whirl. Boy was I happy I did! This is probably one of the best seafood pasta dishes I have ever had!
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound penne pasta
- 1 pound shrimp
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 whole onion (small)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup white wine, or to taste
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Fresh parsley, to taste
- Fresh basil, to taste
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Directions:
- Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.
- Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra-large shrimp. Heat about one tablespoon butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
- In a large skillet heat two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit, add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about a half cup).
- Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add one cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
- Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil.
- Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.
At first, it seemed like the sauce was a little runny, but after only a few minutes, it turned into a nice creamy, rich sauce. This is absolutely delectable! Enjoy!