This post is sponsored by our pasta friends at DeLallo! We love all their pastas and sauces and olives and everrrrything ever, but this post specifically is tribute to their traditional semolina capellini. ♡
So you wanna make capellini pomodoro, huh?
I’m not going to make any claims to authentic Italian cooking here, but I AM most definitely going to be making claims for SUPERdelicious capellini pomodoro with shrimp and that smooth garlic butter flavor that will come together faster than your hungry self could ever believe. No, I mean it. Between the 5-ish minutes to cook the shrimp and the 5-ish minutes to cook the capellini and the 20 minutes to simmer the silky, buttery tomato basil sauce (which can be happening while the other two things are in process), we’re looking at a LESS THAN 30 MINUTE MEAL situation here.
You know those times when you just need really good food and you need really fast? No messing around, no massive trips to special grocery stores, no confusing steps? This girl – this capellini pomodoro – is everyone’s darling. She’s here for you when you need her.
BRB Ultra-thick-noodle-fork twirl in three, two…
HOW TO MAKE OUR CAPELLINI POMODORO (40 SEC):
Summer is coming, guys. Can you so totally feel it?
For the last few months, I have been just proudly embracing the dark, cozy, warmth of winter in my life via recipes, capsule wardrobe, photos, and blog content – lots of soups and hot foods, thick sweaters, thicker socks, warming spices (hello winter my perfect excuse to eat curry for 100 days straight), photos with those amazing dark grey linen napkins – but now it’s April and we had like three seconds of sun the other day and I can feel myself and my food and my photos all literally and figuratively coming back into the light. Whee!
You know how sometimes the weather just really affects what’s going on in your head? Like how on rainy days, all you want to do is SLEEP FOREVER and on sunny days you become the happiest possible version of yourself and suddenly decide to start training for a triathlon or become a grill master or binge-buy gardening supplies? All because of a little sun?
That’s sort of how I feel about this recipe. It’s been cold and rainy and even a little snowy for the last few weeks bc GAHHH MARCH, but then the sun showed its face and I became a new person. I traded heavy boots for light flats, and pulled out the bright white marble board for some summery photo inspiration, and started venturing back into the fresh produce section at the grocery store. !! That basil. Oh, that basil. I’ve missed that fresh basil smell.
So here we are. It’s early April, and I’m now making tomato sauces with fresh tomatoes (it’s still a little early, yeah yeah yeah just let me) and fresh basil and SHRIMP and life feels so right. Does shrimp feel so ultra springy and delicious to anyone else? Light, easy, and almost a tiny bit sweet? It is the perfect spring protein, and here it is being showed off with my current favorite ingredient combo:
As evidenced by the steaming noodle pile above, we have been and still are using DeLallo noodles – spaghetti, penne, fettuccine, and now capellini – to dive into when we get hungry for pasta.
DeLallo pasta is made with hard durum wheat grown in Italy – you know, real Italy, NBD – and conveniently, durum wheat is the hardest wheat, high in protein and gluten, which is perfect for pasta (although if you’re gluten free, DeLallo also has an excellent line of gluten free pastas as well – I’ve seen it stocked at our Target lately). Because of how the pasta dough is made and shaped, DeLallo pasta is known for having coarser surface made to capture sauces which is EVERYTHING to me.
Just everything.
Can you tell?
Here’s to the happy flavors of warmer times and the power of a bowl of pasta, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic butter, and shrimp.
I mean, it’s so obvious.
But simple always wins.
Garlic Butter Capellini Pomodoro with Shrimp
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Garlic Butter Capellini Pomodoro with Shrimp – simple prep, easy ingredients: capellini pasta, shrimp, garlic, butter, basil, and fresh tomatoes. Ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
SHRIMP:
- 1 lb. large shrimp
- salt, pepper, and olive oil for the pan
POMODORO SAUCE:
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 cups diced fresh tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut or torn into small pieces
- salt to taste
PASTA:
- 8 ounces DeLallo capellini
- Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- SHRIMP: Heat a swish of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side. Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside.
- GARLIC BUTTER POMODORO SAUCE: In the same pan, heat just a tiny bit more oil over medium low heat and toss the garlic in. Saute for a minute or two until it smells amazing. Add the tomatoes and broth and simmer for 10-ish minutes. The tomatoes will start to become saucy, and gradually that sauce will start to thicken. This is good.
- CAPELLINI: Cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- ALL TOGETHER NOW: Add the butter and basil to the thickened sauce and stir to combine. If it needs thickening, let it hang out on low heat for just a little while longer. Season to taste. When the sauce is ready, add the shrimp back in. Serve the sauce over top of the pasta with a little Parm, salt, and pepper.
Notes
Pro Shrimp Tip: sometimes I borrow a clove of minced garlic from the sauce ingredients and toss it in the pan with the shrimp for next level garlic flavored shrimp.
For serving, you can mix everything together but I found that it just looked prettier with the sauce on top.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: garlic butter capellini, pasta with shrimp, pomodoro sauce
Thank you to DeLallo for making such delicious capellini and for sponsoring this post! And FYI if you’re local to Minneapolis / St. Paul, DeLallo products can almost always be found in the pasta aisle at Cub Foods.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy shrimp recipes. Check it out!