Authentic Italian Recipe: Shrimp alla Marinara Recipe

Whenever an email arrives from Roberto Pisano it causes some excitement around Artful Italia. We are always grateful for a new dinner idea, and an authentic Italian recipe, often with Roberto's own twist to make it more authentically his. Our last blog with Roberto featured an authentic recipe for Tomato Sauce. This post focuses on one way to use the sauce in an exceptional dish that is both authentic and a perfect example of the Mediterranean diet that combines healthy food, with exceptional taste-Shrimp alla Marinara .

Below you will find the recipe refined by the cook, Roberto, with his introduction about the dish and step-by-step instructions. In typical Italian style there are no definitive quantities so we will leave it up to you to decide how much shrimp you want, pasta and sauce. It is all part of the adventure of Italian cooking! Buon Apetito!

Shrimp cooks very quickly, in just 2 or 3 minutes.  This results in a challenge of how to infuse the

shrimp flavor into the sauce without overcooking the shrimp. Simply cooking the shrimp in the Tomato Sauce is more akin to making Shrimp AND Tomato Sauce - - the flavors haven’t had a chance to meld, to develop as one, there is no “maritata”. The method for making a Shrimp alla Marinara Sauce infused with shrimp flavor may be somewhat elusive and counter intuitive but there’s a simple and elegant solution; after shelling your shrimp, simmer the shells in the tomato sauce for about 30 minutes. While still warm, run the sauce with shells through a food mill, separating the shells from the sauce. The sauce, now free of shells but infused with their flavor, is brought back to a simmer and the shrimp meat is added only in the final minutes of cooking to preserve their sweet flavor and tender texture. The end product is delicate and exquisite, a sauce redolent with shrimp flavor, and I can't imagine any better way to achieve the perfect "Shrimp alla Marinara”! 

Here’s the step-by-step below:

Linguine con Gamberi alla Marinara / Shrimp alla Marinara Recipe

Like most good Italian recipes we start with just a few simple ingredients.  The sauce used in this preparation is a pure Sugo di Pomodoro, preferably one of your own making (click on this link to see a complete rundown for making this “Nonna-approved” sugo: Marinara Sauce recipe.  We want to use a simple tomato sauce here as any other type, such as an herb-infused “marinara” may overpower the taste of the shrimp.  And if for some reason you don’t have any of your own homemade sauce on hand you could, in a pinch, use a high quality store-bought product here, but don’t skimp on quality - - make sure to go “top shelf”.

Ingredienti:

Homemade Simple Tomato Sauce, Sugo di Pomodoro.

Fresh Shell-on Shrimp (with or without heads).

Bronze cut Slow-dried Italian Pasta (Linguine may be most traditional for this recipe but Spaghetti works well, too).

Fresh Basil and/or Italian parsley, to taste.

With Seafood Shears or a sharp paring knife such as this “Bird’s Beak” style peeling knife from Fontani separate the shells from the Shrimp Meat and place in separate bowls.  Be sure to discard any dark “veins” that may appear in the process.  If using whole “head-on” Shrimp set aside a few for separate cooking and use as a garnish over your finished dish. 

Place the shells in a sauce pan with a drizzle of Olive Oil and sauté for a few minutes until aromatic . . . 

Then add your Homemade Tomato sauce to the pan and  gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Any longer and the delicate flavor compounds in the shells may be lost to overcooking.

Now, here’s where the magic happens. Working in batches run the Tomato Sauce/Shrimp Shell mixture through a food mill such as the one shown, collecting the filtered sauce in a separate bowl to be returned to the sauce pan for reheating.  The sauce is now deeply infused with the sweet essence of shrimp flavor.  Finally, add your reserved Shrimp Meat to the simmering sauce until just cooked through, about 3 minutes or until the Shrimp just take on a delicate pink color.

Present your finished dish in a platter worthy of your efforts, placing a few optional reserved cooked whole shrimp as a garnish.

Now plate and enjoy . . . Buon Appetito!

If you are lucky enough to live in the Seattle area, or to be visiting sign up for Roberto's class, or better yet have him come to your home to cook for you and your friends! You can find him at his website: Classic Italian Home Cooking.