Shrimp, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Asparagus Bucatini Recipe in White Wine & Garlic Sauce

May 12, 2010 by Dara 39 Comments

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As I stumbled into the bathroom yesterday morning, I made the mistake of glancing in the mirror. At first I thought my bleary eyes were playing tricks on me – that is, until I moved in for closer scrutiny. The silvery flashes that caught my eye were a scattering of no less than 20 grey hairs. How could this be? I have not even reached the big 4-0 and already I am considering buying up all the Clairol stock I can get my hands on. I dealt with this sign of maturity the way any red-blooded, grey-haired woman would. I went to the local specialty store and thought of nothing but food for an hour. One hour does not do this addictive gourmet store, called Pirate-O’s, justice. I could spend all of that time just in the cheese room. Yes, I said “room”. For those of you who don’t live in Utah, check out their products for order online. (By the way, I am not receiving any sort of kickbacks from this. In fact, the good people at Pirate-O’s have no idea who I am. I just really like their store.) What does all of this have to do with this pasta recipe?

While I was spending my therapeutic hour in Pirate-O’s, I picked up a couple of packages of perciatelli (also called bucatini), which are long, hollow pasta tubes slightly thicker than spaghetti. If you are unable to find perciatelli or bucatini, substitute linguine. When cooked until al dente, this pasta has a pleasing, substantial texture. The sauce, made from olive oil, garlic, and white wine, seeps into the small opening inside the pasta. A variety of meats and vegetables would complement this sauce, but I chose large, tender shrimp with the tang of sun-dried tomatoes and the freshness of thin, springtime asparagus.

Snap off the tough ends of 1/2 pound asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces.

MY OTHER RECIPES

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1 pound perciatelli (or bucatini) pasta and cook until al dente. During the last minute of cooking, add the asparagus. Drain the pasta and asparagus into a colander.

While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and a large pinch crushed red chili flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup dry white wine and cook at a rapid simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add 3/4 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp and simmer until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 12 thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Add the pasta and asparagus and toss with the shrimp and sauce. Add 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, and toss again. Serve immediately and top with additional grated Parmesan cheese.

Other recipes using bucatini or perciatelli:

Vanilla Sugar’s Bucatini all’Amatriciana
Cooking with the Single Guy’s Bucatini Carbonara

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I’ll be sure to find it.