Shrimp in Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

Most of the time when I start making a dish like this, I think "Oh, I'll cook some pasta, and the sauce can cook that fast...dinner will be done in 15 minutes!" So I tell The Professor to go ahead and open up a bottle of wine, food will be here in a jiffy.

HAHAHAHAHA! I am incapable of cooking anything more complicated than a grilled cheese sandwich in less than 37 minutes.

Tonight, the sauce took a lot longer to reduce than I expected. So while I actually planned for the whole thing to take 30-40 minutes, it ended up being close to a bottle of wine an hour before dinner was ready.

This week Presto Pasta Nights is at The Sweet Kitchen!

Shrimp in Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

• Approximately 6.625 ounces of whole wheat fuseli, cooked (the cork screws)*
  
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1½ cups vegetable broth (I'd reduce this to 1 cup next time)
  
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup grated Asiago cheese
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/2 pound baby shrimp
• 5-6 basil leaves, roughly chopped

The box of pasta is 13.25 ounces, and I used half the box, hence the funky measurement.

Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth, bay leaf, and red peper flakes. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until reduced by half. Remove the bay leaf.

Whisk in the cream and grated cheese and return to a slow simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp and basil, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp are done.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve with some bread to soak up the sauce.