This blog is written by celebrity chef and THOR Kitchen brand advocate Derrick Fox. Each month, Chef Fox will be sharing his favorite recipes with step-by-step directions, pictures and his signature style.

Who doesn’t love a good spaghetti with tomato sauce. Everyone has a go to recipe or a favorite, well… this is going to be your new favorite. A couple reasons this really simple dish sets it apart from the rest. Pasta Water. This is a very underutilized ingredient for home cooks. Whenever you go out to a restaurant and you get the pasta dish and you wonder, “how is it so creamy, perfectly seasoned and delicious?” The answer is Pasta Water.

In this recipe we are mixing Pasta Water with about a cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese and setting it aside to add to our sauce towards the end. This technique adds that creamy smooth texture that you wont get enough of. This technique is used in Caccio y peppe but I have started using it with all my pastas and it takes them to the next level. Follow this recipe and when you get the hang of it, try it with other pastas, and you will be feeling like a certified Thor Chef in no time!

Watch how to make the Shrimp Spaghettini in this video and find the full recipe below!

Here’s what you’ll need:

First start boiling your water and heavily salt your water. Think like ocean water.

While you’re waiting for your water to boil, in a Sautee pan over medium high heat, add roughly 2 tbsp of olive oil, then add your panko. Keep it moving in the pan until evenly toasted. Toss in your chopped parsley and set aside. Now dice your garlic, chili, basil, and set aside. Grate your parmesan, put one cup of parmesan in a bowl and set by your pasta water, grate some more for topping your pasta.

To Prepare the Sauce:

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil, sauté garlic and red chili. Roughly at the same time drop your spaghetti in the boiling water. Then when garlic and chilis have cooked (be careful, don’t let them burn) hit the pan with ¼ cup white wine, sauté a couple minutes to let the wine cook. Then add your tomatoes. When your pasta is half way cooked, scoop one full ladle of that starchy pasta water over that bowl of parmesan and whisk until cheese is melted and you have a milky looking water. Now add your basil to your tomato sauce and reduce heat to simmer.

Next, the Shrimp:

Season your shrimp with salt and pepper. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat sauté your shrimp with a little olive oil 2 minutes on each side and turn off the heat.

Time to put it all together!

When your pasta is at a Al dente (no all the way cooked), with tongs grab the spaghettini and transfer directly out of the water to the tomato sauce. You want a little of the past water to drip into the tomato sauce. Crank up the heat, mix the past in the sauce getting it nice and coated. Now when the tomato sauce gets to a high simmer, pour in the parmesan pasta water, and start moving your pasta around. Its going to seem very runny at first, but crank that heat and keep it moving and it will thicken up. Once its at the right consistency add your shrimp. Give that a toss to get the shrimp coated and your done. Plate in a deep rimmed plate or large bowl, top with green onions, drizzle of nice olive oil, and shave some fresh parm.

So Good! Enjoy

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