In one of my many social media platforms, a friend shared a tuscan butter shrimp dish he had made from a website. It looked so amazing that I immediately wanted to try it. I also wanted to change it a bit. This was presented as an almost soup but seemed perfect to be a topper for a grain. I was fast to pick pasta but realized I wanted to try something almost crazy. I picked udon noodles. Mostly because I have some. This choice was perfect though. Let’s dive in.

Ingredients

• ~ 2 oz or more depending on number of guests, udon noodles

• 2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 pound shrimp with no tails and cooked

• Salt

• Pepper

• 3 tbls butter

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 1 1/2 cup small tomatoes. I bought grape

• 3 cups baby spinach

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• Basil

• Grated Parmesan

Prep

1. Use a large pan or skillet and add the oil and heat on medium high

2. When it starts to really get warm, add the shrimp

3. Use the salt and pepper to taste or preference and stir the shrimp to get it all over. When sufficiently coated, leave to cook on one side, then flip it. This should brown it if you do this right.

4. This gave me time to mince the garlic. Fast tip, you can put a whole garlic in a closed container and shake as violently as a category 5 tornado to remove the peel and separate the cloves.

5. Remove the shrimp and oil from the pan. I poured all of it into a bowl and since this is getting set aside, it allowed the shrimp to marinade a bit longer in the oil mixture.

6. Set the skillet back and reduce the heat to low-medium

7. Add the butter to the skillet

8. While the butter is melting, start a pot of water and set to boil

9. Add the minced garlic to the melted butter and stir. You’ll want to take about a minute to let this cook together. This should make it fragrant. I couldn’t help myself and kept stirring but this isn’t required. It will smell amazing.

10. If your water is boiling now and it should be, add the noodles for 7-8 minutes to get them cooking

11. Add the tomatoes and let them cook until they start to burst. If you don’t see it, you’ll hear it. Believe me. Little wet pops and the skin will start to slide off

12. Add the spinach and stir and poke until it starts to wilt and drastically seems to shrink

13. Add the basil and stir some more. You’ll want it to start to wilt as well and it will get fragrant.

14. Add the cream and add (or grate) the Parmesan (for once I own the tool, I got to use my grater for the first time and it was amazing and a game changer for adding cheese. Fresh cheese, best cheese) to your preference.

15. Stir all this and let the sauce sit on the heat for at least three minutes so it can reduce. I think this means set/thicken a bit. I’m actually not sure.

16. Add the shrimp back in and stir this all together. Let sit on the heat to make sure the shrimp is all the way cooked and warm.

17. The noodles should be done by now. Strain them and add to your bowl

18. Pour what you’d like of the butter shrimp on top of the noodles

19. Add some more Parmesan on top if you please.

Afterthoughts

This was a creamy, tasty dish. The basil was the perfect thing to really make this feel Italian but the udon added another dimension to it. The cream taste I associate with so many pastas was a compliment to udon that was smooth and filling all at the same time. The butter and garlic attack your senses but the basil is the small thing that packs a wallop for your nose and sensibilities. I couldn’t stop eating. I also decided to go rogue and grabbed a few slices of bread and soaked up that sauce. It was magnificent. Fast, easy and magnificent.