Shrimp Cacciatore

LizP's Note:

If you are looking for a KILLER pasta dish, this is the one. This was my mother's signature dish when I was growing up. It is like something you would get in a Italian fine dining restaurant. Since I have adopted my husband's family traditions for Christmas Eve of doing seafood and no meat, it is our traditional Christmas Eve recipe. I hope you enjoy it. It is also delicious as Chicken Cacciatore or if you just use the vegetables. It seems like a long recipe, but it is actually very, very easy, especially if you make the sauce base ahead of time. The tomato sauce base is delicious on its own, so I make a huge batch and keep it frozen in the freezer to use over pasta in other preparations.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

Tomato Sauce Base

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large carrot , sliced
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 small piece salt pork (this is KEY for the unique flavor)
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 chopped green pepper
• salt and pepper

Cacciatore

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper , cut in strips
• 1 green pepper , cut in strips
• salt and pepper
• 2 large tomatoes , cut into 8 wedges each
• 1 large onion , thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 ½ cups tomato sauce , base
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 lbs shrimp
• garlic salt
• 1 ½ lbs fettuccine

Directions:

1. Tomato Sauce Base: Heat olive oil and brown the carrot, salt pork and garlic for 5 minutes.
2. Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for 40 minutes. After simmering is done discard the carrot, salt pork and green pepper.
3. Cacciatore: Heat 2 Tbl oil and add red pepper, green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, onion, mushrooms and stir fry until onion is softened, but not mushy.
5. Stir in 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce base and the white wine. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. In a separate pan heat 1 Tbl olive oil and add shrimp and garlic salt and cook until shrimp are JUST cooked.
7. Add shrimp to the sauce and serve over pasta.