Shrimp Alfredo - Cooking with Shonte'

Pasta Ingredients

• We will be making homemade pasta but if you prefer not to do that, you are welcome to to buy already made pasta (fettuccine,spaghetti, penne, or your choice)
• Homemade Pasta Ingredients
  • The flour- Best option is Semolina flour, Next best is Wheat flour, last best is All-purpose flour (5-10lb bag) you will use 2 cups to make dough
  • 4 large Eggs- but if you do not like eggs you can substitute with water (6oz)
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ tablespoon of olive oil

Alfredo sauce Ingredients

• 1-2 15oz jars of Alfredo sauce (Bertolli or Classico brands are my favorite, but if you can find the freshest prepared brand,that would be great)
• Fresh shredded parmesan cheese (1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoons of of Fresh parsley or Dried Parsley flakes
• 4 cloves of fresh minced garlic or 1 tablespoon of jarred minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons of salted butter
• ¼ cup of heavy cream- buy a pint size to add adjust thickness of sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning (combo of oregano, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary ,marjoram) If you get these ingredients  fresh and chopped up, it would be ideal but if not the dried seasoning mix is just fine.
• 1 chopped yellow onion (optional)
• 1 -2 teaspoon of Red pepper flakes (optional if you like heat)

Shrimp Ingredients

• 1lb of large deveined  uncooked shell on shrimp (we will use the shells to make ¼ cup of shrimp broth, this will intensify the flavor)- please defrost prior to cooking if frozen
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste
• 2 minced garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon of jar minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of of butter

Tools

• Rolling pin
• Pasta roller machine, handheld noodle cutter, or sharp chef knife
• 1 large pot
• 1 saucepan or skillet
• Garlic mincer
• Cutting board
• Baking sheet (parchment paper)
• Gloves (pasta making can be a bit messy)

Directions (please go and check out the recorded cooking class on Project Life, under Kitchen if you missed the live class and/or the instructions are hard to follow)

Pasta 👩🏼‍🍳

1. Get 2 cups of your chosen flour, make a nest with the center open on the parchment paper
2. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt in the middle of the flour (if not using eggs add 6oz of water)
3. Gently by using hands, incorporate the flour and wet ingredients together to form a dough
4. Knead the dough for at least 5-8 mins, especially if using semolina flour it may be a bit tougher and grainer but stick with it, the dough should be smooth and together, not too dry and not sticky. If too dry sprinkle finger with a bit of water and knead into dough, if too dry add a pinch of flour and knead until consistency is reached
5. Let dough sit for 30 mins covered with plastic wrap, it helps make the dough softer but not required, you can start to roll dough immediately
6. Get another piece of parchment paper, sprinkle some flour on the surface,cut the dough into four pieces
7. Flatten dough piece with hand, then start rolling from the middle out (while turning and flipping each roll) with roller pin into a oval, sprinkle with flour if sticking to roller pin or paper
8. Whether you are going to use the roller pin or the pasta roller, you want the dough thin enough to be able to see your hand underneath the dough.
9. Whew!!😮‍💨 after all that rolling (hope your not too tired, get someone to help you if so, I know this can take a lot out of us 😔)
10. Once it is thin to your liking, cut pasta into strips(thicker for fettuccine, super thin for spaghetti . There are two ways to roll
    1. Roll the dough up into a hollow tube then cut slices along roll, then unravel once cut, strips will be the outcome
    2. or get the pasta cutter and roll across dough to create the strips, if you have the pasta roller machine (follow instructions provided)
11. if you have a pasta drying rack  this is the ideal time to use it, otherwise just sprinkle a bit more flour on the  cut pasta strips and spread it out on a new parchment paper, this allows the pasta to dry for a bit, (if freezing make them into small rolled pasta balls and place in a gallon freezer bag  place the bag  flat inside the freezer vs upright to prevent from sticking to other pasta balls)
12. The pasta does NOT have to be completely dry in order to cook, the drying process is mostly for storage.
13. Continue these steps until all the dough has been cut, if you need a break, it's ok to put the rest of the dough in the fridge to cut for later.

Cooking the pasta

1. It's super easy, boil some water infused with a little olive oil and salt (1 teaspoon of each)
2. Once water is boiling, add the fresh pasta into water and cook until al dente (a bit firm to the bite) should take 2min-3min max, (since the pasta is fresh it takes quicker to cook vs store bought pasta that may take longer).
3. Done!!

Making Shrimp (if your not using shrimp for this dish, skip this part)

1. Peel entire shrimp of its shell or just to the tail, save shells and place in skillet
2. We are going to make a shrimp broth from the shells, take the shells in the skillet and season with salt and pepper, butter
3. Add ¼ cup-½ cup of water to shells and let boil, strain shells and we now have shrimp broth, this will provide the pasta sauce a bit shrimp flavor
4. In same pan, add ½ tablespoons of olive oil and ½ tablespoon of butter and cook shrimp for about 5-8mins until cooked thoroughly, season with salt and pepper to your taste

Making Alfredo Sauce

• In a saucepan on medium to low heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter and saute minced garlic and onions
• empty 1-2 jars of the already prepared alfredo sauce into pan (we just gonna upgrade the sauce a bit 😉)
• Add the ¼ cup of the homemade shrimp broth otherwise add ¼ cup of heavy cream or water
• Add an additional ¼ cup of heavy cream
• Add parmesan cheese, italian seasoning, salt and pepper, parsley, red pepper flakes(optional),
• If sauce is too thick add more shrimp broth or water, if too thin add more heavy cream
• Once everything is mixed well and has a mild boil, the sauce is ready. garnish with fresh parsley

Combine & EAT!!