Have you ever walked through the grocery store frustrated because you can’t figure out what you want to eat for dinner? Well, I have – and thank goodness I have, because this recipe is the result of it! I love shrimp, and I love pasta – Italian food is the best thing on earth, if you ask me. Well, half of me – the other half yearns for black eyed peas and cornbread. I digress…
This recipe is a play on traditional Italian ingredients and a simple combination of them, in an American way. What can I say? I love to take old things and make them new! Pancetta (pronouced pon-chet-ta) is cured pork meat, and it is delicious! It is like the American equivalent of bacon. I have yet to find (or look really hard) any good pancetta in America, so I tag bacon in for this fight. It will surely win, right? I frutti del mare (fruit of the sea/seafood) is also a big staple in Italian dishes. Shrimp is quick and easy to cook. Shrimp and bacon together never fail, so lets get this recipe started!
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp garlic podwer
- 1 tsp onion podwer
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp salt to be used in both pasta and shrimp
- 4 tbsp olive oil to be used in both pasta and shrimp
- 4 tbsp butter half a stick
- 3-5 slices bacon
- 1 box penne pasta (±16 ounces)
- First, clean your shrimp and basil, separately. If shrimp is frozen, unthaw it with cold water. Devein it and take the shells off.
- Chop up basil.
- Season shrimp with garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, basil and a few pinches of salt.
- Cut bacon into 1" strips and cook over medium heat. You want it to cook evenly.
- Stir while it cooks so that the pieces cook evenly and do not burn. When the bacon has cooked completely, remove it from the oil that has formed and pat it down with paper towels.
- Prep pasta to boil by adding olive oil and salt to a pot of water over medium-high heat. Cook according to package instructions.
- In a large cooking pan, combine 2 tbsps of olive oil and 2 tbsps of butter. Heat over medium-low heat until butter melts.
- Add shrimp to pan and let it slowly cook. As it starts to cook (turning pink), add 2 other tbsps of butter.
- Shrimp will be completely done when all of the shrimp is completely pink. This will take 7-8 minutes when cooked over medium-low heat.
- Mix the cooked pasta, bacon and shrimp together, or serve by placing your shrimp and bacon over a bed of pasta. Either way, it's time to eat, so dig in!
There you have it! You’re really going to enjoy this simple dish that is my American take on some great Italian and American traditional ingredients. Prepare for your family or friends and let me know how you all enjoy it!
xoxo, dolls & dudes!
This looks so delicious!! I don’t eat red meat so I might try to make it without the bacon/pancetta. Thank you of sharing!
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Thank you, Natalie. It would still be great with just shrimp! You might add some sauteed spinach or something similar for more taste 🙂
Oh my goodness that looks AMAZING! going to have to try this ASAP.
Hope you love it, Faith! 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to add it into the menu for the week!
I hope you enjoy it! Thanks, Rosemond 🙂
The title says it all. It has all three of my favorite food groups: pasta, seafood, and BACON! I’m bookmarking this for later. Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe!
Lol those three are pretty much the best, Dayne! I hope you’ll love it when you try it!
This looks delicious!!
Thanks, Alex!
Sounds delicious. And looks pretty 🙂
Thanks, Stephanie!
Looks good! I think it will also do good with prawns since I don’t eat shrimps (I think I had too much of them at one point lol))). And you can’t really go wrong with bacon.
Lol aww they’re the best, maybe one day you’ll have a taste for them again? And you definitely can’t go wrong with bacon!
This sounds amazing! I LIVE for easy to make recipes! I am definitely going to try this one out! Pinned 🙂
Easy recipes make the world go round!! Thanks for pinning, I hope you love it! 🙂