Since the weather is kind of a comedy punchline in the south we choose to have our own seasons. So let me introduce you to the four seasons of south Louisiana: Shrimp, Crab, Crawfish, and Oyster. I guess you can say, we love taking advantage of the bounties our waters provide us. Why wouldn’t you want to enjoy the succulent seafood our beautiful gulf blesses us with??
Thankfully my family enjoys seafood just as much as I do and to top it off, my kids inherited the most important trait from me – their love of pasta! So since they love it just as much as I do, our table is guaranteed to have a pasta and/or seafood dish of some sort at least once a week without it being the same dish for a few months at a time.
Now while we really enjoy our chicken and beef pastas, we REALLY LOVE our seafood pastas!!
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Growing up we had a few things considered taboo in the kitchen with a big one being seafood and milk. Let me just say that today, we’ve come to embrace this combination … well, to an extent! Think about it, if it says ‘creamy’, it’s gotta have some form of dairy, right?? While this one has no cheese, it does have a healthy dose of silky heavy cream!! Ummm YUMMM!
The first time I cooked this we had just put up some shrimp in the freezer and kept some out for boiling. Then the weather decided to take a detour from a sunny day to an afternoon storm and that knocked out that plan. Yes, just that quick the weather can change down here! I’m telling y’all, I think Mother Nature has a game going to see how many seasons she can fit in a single day around here!
Bad weather or not, we still had to eat, so we looked at what we had and went with it. Since we had planned a boil we had plenty of mushrooms, garlic and onions so it was a given that would be part of dinner. I always have cream and pasta so we went with it. The fun thing is that this takes only a short time to cook. So after cooking and clean up we had time to enjoy the stormy weather while drinking a nice cold beverage on the back porch! Basically, it was a win win for momma that night!
Okay, it’s time to get this done. Let’s start off with cleaning the shrimp. Do not skip the step of cleaning your shrimp thoroughly. No one wants to eat that stuff down the middle so be sure to remove the vein that runs down the back of the shrimp after you’ve removed the shells.
Jump to RecipeOnce the shrimp are cleaned, rinse with clean water and then strain the water off. In a bowl, dust the shrimp with your favorite cajun seasoning blend. Be sure to keep them refrigerated until you are ready to cook.
In a large skillet, it’s time to fry up some bacon. Oh, did I forget to mention this has bacon in it?? Well, if you haven’t noticed from my other recipes, I like my bacon almost as much as I love my pasta!
So we’re going to fry up about 4 pieces of bacon then set them aside leaving most of the drippings in the skillet. This fat is going to be used to sear the shrimp. That step doesn’t take long though. Have your heat up to a medium high and only leave the shrimp on each side for one minute max.
At this point the shrimp will not be cooked through which is going to allow for further cooking in a few minutes without overcooking.
*NOTE: Do not overcrowd the shrimp. Just like browning meat for something like a roast, overcrowding will just create steam and not allow the protein to caramelize properly.
Once both sides are seared, set the shrimp aside with the bacon. Both of these will be added back to the sauce before serving.
Next step will be to saute the red onions in the remaining bacon fat and some added butter. While the onions cook, get the garlic ready. If you have a garlic press, press the cloves through to get a good mashed consistency. If you do not have one handy, simply mince the garlic and smash using the back of your knife. While I love garlic, I do not enjoy biting in a big chunk that hasn’t been cooked down. Getting a good mash on the garlic not only extracts a ton of flavor, but it also allows the cook time needed to decrease significantly.
After a few minutes of sauteing the onions, add the garlic and a splash of white wine or chicken broth. Throw in the sliced mushrooms and let this cook another 10 minutes on low.
Add your chicken stock (reserving 1/3 cup), heavy cream, and all seasonings. While this comes to a simmer, whisk together the cornstarch and reserved chicken broth. When there are no lumps, slowly add the slurry to your skillet to help thicken your sauce.
NOTE: While this has been cooking, have your pasta cooking in a well salted water. Once cooked, drain the pasta but reserve 1/2 cup of the water the pasta was cooked in. You do not want the pasta nor the water to be cold when it comes time to add to the shrimp so time it accordingly.
Once the sauce has simmered for 5-7 minutes, return the shrimp, chopped bacon, and reserved pasta water. Bring this back to a simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Add your cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly. Top with chopped green onions for a little zip and freshness then enjoy!
Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Fettuccine
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- 2 lb peeled, deveined shrimp
- 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (for shrimp)
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ medium red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic pressed, mashed
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 & ⅓ cup chicken broth, divided
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (for sauce)
- 1 Tbsp green onions, diced for garnishing
Instructions
- Cook pasta per box directions. Once cooked, drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. NOTE: Do not allow pasta or pasta water to cool before adding to sauce.
- Peel, devein, wash, then drain shrimp. Season with 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning, set aside and keep cool until needed.
- In a large skillet, fry bacon, set aside on paper towels while leaving bacon fat in skillet.
- Over medium high heat, sear shrimp in bacon fat for one minute on each side then remove and set aside. NOTE: Do not overcrowd shrimp to allow for caramelization.
- Add 1 Tbsp butter to the skillet and add diced onions. Saute on medium heat until tender.
- Add smashed garlic, sliced mushrooms, and a splash of either white wine or chicken broth. Cook over medium heat for an additional 3-5 minutes.
- Slowly pour in heavy cream and 1 cup of chicken broth. Add in dry seasonings and bring this to a simmer.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining 1/3 cup of chicken broth with cornstarch to make a slurry. Make sure there are no lumps and slowly add to thicken sauce. Let this cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add in warm pasta water, shrimp, and crumbled bacon pieces. Bring this back to a simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes. Toss with cooked pasta and serve garnished with diced green onions (optional).
