Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Penne Rigate

Once a year, Barilla pasta publishes a Celebrity Cookbook on line in February. I print it and Jim used to bind them for me at work. Barilla donates $1 for every person who downloads to Second Harvest. This recipe comes from the 2007 cookbook. The celebrity was Tyson Beckford (?) and Giada De Laurentis turned his memory of a family favorite pasta dish into a recipe. We kept saying this is good, but we were not sure if it was really good or if a week of Chinese takeout, frozen dinners, and frozen leftovers were coloring our taste buds. Serves 4, but none is left.


1# large shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1t salt

1t freshly ground black pepper

1t dried crushed red pepper flakes (I used ¼ t of mine)

3T olive oil

1 med. onion, finely chopped

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice

1 C dry white wine

3 garlic cloves, chopped

½ t dried oregano leaves

1# penne pasta

¼ C chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

¼ C chopped fresh basil

This goes very fast. I put the pasta water on to boil and put a medium size wok on the other burner. Add the oil to the wok. I seasoned the shrimp with the salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes. When the wok is sizzling stir fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes. Don’t do more or you will end up with tough shrimp. Put the shrimp on a plate. Put the penne pasta in the water. Set the timer for 13 minutes. Add the onion, garlic to the wok. Stir fry to render the onion translucent. Add the whole can of tomatoes, wine, and oregano. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add the shrimp back in along with and juice and mix. Add the parsley and basil and serve. You could garnish this with garlic toast and have a starter and dessert and it would be a great company meal.

We had a 2006 Sophenia Chardonnay from Mendoza, Argentina. Crisp and acidic enough to stand up to the red pepper flakes; recommend serving colder than usual.