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Shrimp Alfredo
Fettuccine, butter & parmesan · shrimp seared fast, a squeeze of lemon to cut the richness
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- 1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 lb fettuccine · reserve a cup of pasta water
- 4 Tbsp butter · 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3–4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ cups half-and-half or whole milk (or 1 cup heavy cream)
- 2 Tbsp flour (with milk or half-and-half — thickens & keeps it from breaking; skip for heavy cream)
- 1½ cups parmesan, freshly grated (from a block, not the bag)
- salt · lots of black pepper · pinch nutmeg (optional)
- ½ lemon · chopped parsley to finish
- Boil the fettuccine al dente. Salt the water well and pull the pasta a minute shy of the box — it finishes in the sauce. Save a cup of pasta water before you drain.
- Sear the shrimp fast. Pat dry, salt & pepper; sear in the oil + 1 Tbsp of the butter over high heat, about 90 seconds a side, just to pink. Pull them out — they'll finish warming in the sauce so they never turn to rubber.
- Start the sauce. Lower the heat; melt the rest of the butter and soften the garlic a minute without browning it. Using milk or half-and-half? Whisk in the 2 Tbsp flour and cook 1 minute, then add the dairy gradually, whisking to a smooth, gently simmering sauce that lightly coats a spoon — the roux thickens the leaner dairy and keeps it from curdling. Heavy cream? Skip the flour; just warm it to a bare simmer. Either way, don't boil it hard.
- Melt the parm off the boil. Take the pan off high heat and whisk in the parmesan a handful at a time until smooth. Loosen with splashes of pasta water until it's a silky, pourable sauce. Grate it fresh — bagged "parmesan" has anti-caking starch that turns the sauce gritty.
- Toss the pasta in the pan. Add the drained fettuccine and toss hard, adding pasta water until the sauce coats every strand — the starch is what makes it cling instead of pool.
- Shrimp back & finish. Fold the shrimp in just to warm through. Off the heat: a squeeze of lemon, lots of black pepper, and parsley. On a milk/half-and-half base, keep the lemon to a small squeeze off the heat (or just zest) — too much acid on lean dairy can curdle it. Serve right away — Alfredo waits for no one.
Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.
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