Ingredients
Units
Scale
- For Shrimp Stock:
- 1 pound head-on shrimp, chopped – be sure and chop through the heads!
- 1 8–ounce bottle clam juice, best quality – Bar Harbor brand preferred
- 2 cups Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 box Jacobs Farms Seafood Herbs – if unavailable, use a mix of tarragon, parsley and dill
- 1 bunch Italian parsley
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
- 4 shallots chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, halved
- 1 bunch thyme, cut horizontally – use only the bottom half
- 15 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 plum tomato, quartered
- Water to cover
- ***
- For the Sauce:
- 2 cups canned crushed Italian San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 cups Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 cup homemade shrimp stock
- 2 or 3 top-quality Anchovy Fillets, minced very fine – TFD heartily endorses Ortiz brand
- 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more if needed
- 1 pound of 15 count grey shrimp, preferably wild
- 18 turns of the peppermill
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 3 large shallots, finely minced
- 1/2 head garlic, through the press
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup cognac
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (preferably Aleppo) or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 8 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons Pesto
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ***
- 12 ounces spaghetti
Instructions
- To make the stock:
- Bring all ingredients to a low boil in a smaller-sized stockpot, skim and then simmer gently for 1 hour. Strain all solids out.
- Heat 5 tbs. olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, cook until fragrant but not brown or burned. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently (and adding more oil if needed), until the shrimp are just turning color, about ¾ cooked – again, do not allow the garlic to brown too much or burn! Remove shrimp and garlic and reserve.
- Heat 4 tbs. olive oil over medium heat, add the shallots and cook till shallots are translucent. Then add the wine and cognac, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and briskly, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- In the same pot, add the Aleppo pepper, the tomatoes, the shrimp stock, the anchovies, tomato paste, sugar, 6 tablespoons of the parsley, and the pesto, thyme and oregano.
- Simmer (do not boil), stirring occasionally, over medium to medium-low heat until the flavors blend together, at least 20 minutes. Turn heat off, cover and let sit at least 2 hours to allow the flavours to blend.
- Bring back to the simmer 15 minutes prior to serving. Add shrimp back in just a few minutes before serving until just heated through.
- While the mixture is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, and set aside.
- To serve, make swirls of the pasts in the center of 4 bowls. Arrange shrimp with the sauce, on top of the pasta and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley. Serve immediately.
