Grilled Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp

Grilled Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp brings sweet red bell peppers and spicy red Fresno chilis together for a sauce which starts at the grill and finishes in the sauce pan.  The sweet and spicy sauce balances and complements simply grilled shrimp, with fettuccine pasta filling out this eye-catching dish. While the flavors of Grilled Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp are complex, the preparation really is not.   The sauce prep and cooking can be done ahead of time, as we do, leaving you free to concentrate on the shrimp, pasta and final presentation.  Start your dinner with a Grilled Radicchio and Arugula Salad appetizer and then on to the main event, Grilled Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp, accompanied by a dry white wine or sparkling wine.

Sauce Prep Time: 15 minutes, Sauce Total Time: 45 minutes. 

Shrimp Prep Time: 6 minutes, Shrimp and Pasta Total Time: 10 minutes. Serves 4.

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Ingredients:

• 4 Red Bell Peppers
• ½ lb Red Fresno Chilis
• 1 large Onion
• ½ Tb minced Garlic
• 5 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided into 4 tablespoons for the sauce and 1 tablespoon for the shrimp
• 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
• 1 tsp Hot Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp Aleppo Pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp Sumac
• ½ tsp coarse Sea Salt
• 2 tsp Tomato Paste
• ½ cup dry White Wine
• 2 lbs. 21-25 count Shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail-on
• 2 oz freshly-squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1/8 tsp fine Sea Salt
• 3 oz dried Fettuccine pasta or 7 oz Fettuccine Shirataki Noodles per person*

Preparation:

1. Rinse the bell peppers and Fresno chilis and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, slice the crowns off the bell peppers about ½ inch below the top and remove and discard the stem sections from the crown, leaving rings. Slice the bell peppers, top to bottom, along the natural planes of the peppers, discard the seeds and pith, resulting in 4 or 3 flat sections.  For the Fresno chilis, slice from top to bottom with a sharp knife into two halves; discard the stem and seeds, resulting in two flat halves of each Fresno chili. Place the cut bell peppers and chilis in a bow and set aside.  Peel the onion and slice into four ½-inch thick slices and place in the bowl with the peppers and chilis.
2. Heat the grill to high and, once it’s hot, place the onion slices and pepper and chili pieces, flesh side down, on the grill surface. Grill until the vegetables have developed a good char, then use tongs to turn them over and repeat.  As the vegetables are grilled, remove them to the bowl and allow them to cool to room temperature.  If you are unable to use or do not have access to a grill, this can be done by working in batches and dry frying the vegetables in a large, low-sided frying pan; bear in mind that this will take more time than using a grill.
3. Place the grilled vegetables into the container of a hand blender or food processor. Add the minced garlic and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the vegetables and puree into a thick paste.
4. Pour three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a sauce pan over a medium heat. Add the sweet paprika, hot smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, sumac, and sea salt to the hot oil and cook for 1 minute to allow the seasonings to bloom.  Pour the puree into the sauce pan, add the tomato paste and white wine, stir and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove the sauce from the heat, cover and keep warm.
5. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil; add the pasta or shirataki noodles to the boiling water, stir and cook until al dente and make sure the sauce is simmering.
6. Reheat your grill to a high heat. While the grill is heating and the pasta cooking, whisk the last tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt together in a bowl, add the shrimp and toss to coat the shrimp evenly.
7. As soon as the pasta is done, drain it well and grill the shrimp, 2 minutes per side; again, if you are unable to use or do not have access to a grill, the shrimp can be dry fried in batches in a large, low-sided frying pan.
8. On dinner plates, place a healthy smear of sauce across the plate and, using tongs, place the well-drained pasta on top of it. Arrange the grilled shrimp around the outside of the plate, place a dollop of sauce on top of the pasta and scatter a few shrimp over the sauced pasta.  Enjoy the Grilled Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp over pasta with a dry white wine or sparkling wine.

*Note:

• 3 ounces of dried fettuccine pasta cooked will roughly approximate the same mass as 7 ounces of fettuccine shirataki noodles.