Italian Sausage and Shrimp Sauce
This sauce was inspired by my Sausage and Clam soup recipe. You can change up the type of sausage and seafood to your liking. Cajun with andouille and crawfish would be great!
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 Tbl EVOO
- 2-3 links Hot Italian sausage, remove casing, crumble adjust amount to your taste; sub mild or another type of sausage about 6-8oz
- 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp
- 2 Tbl shallots, finely minced one large or two small
- 4 oz cremini mushrooms, diced about half a small package
- 2/3 cup red pepper, small dice about 1/2 pepper, roasted pepper is GREAT here
- 1 tsp dry basil dry is best here
- 1 tsp anchovy paste optional, but adds umami
- 1 Tbl tomato paste
- 1 Tbl flour any type is fine
- 1 Tbl butter
- 1 cup diced or crushed tomatoes about half a 14 oz can
- 1/4 cup mirin optional
- 1/2 cup red or white wine if you skip, use chicken stock instead
- 1 cup salad shrimp (tiny, usually frozen) or 1.5 cups small peeled shrimp
- 1/2 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 Tbl capers
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- S/P to taste
- fresh basil, chiffonade optional
- 4 portions cooked pasta to serve sauce on I prefer Barilla pasta
Instructions
- Do your mise en place and veg prep first.
- In a 2-4qt sauce pan over medium heat, add EVOO and sausage; sauté a couple of minutes.
- Add garlic, shallots, creminis and red pepper. Cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Add basil, anchovy paste, tomato paste, butter and flour. Raise heat just a little, stirring constantly. This is to make a roux and cook out the flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add lemon zest, tomatoes, mirin and wine. Bring to simmer.
- Turn off heat and add capers and lemon juice. Check S/P levels.
- Stir in cream to your preferred thickness. Check S/P again.
- Serve over pasta with fresh basil.
Notes
Image Credit: allrecipes.com
This sauce base can be used for any meat/seafood combo and flavour profile you like. Here are a couple of examples:
Cajun - use andouille and crawfish with Cajun seasoning (skip anchovy paste) Spanish - use merguez and shrimp, add olives and use oregano rather than basil The options are endless!
Cajun - use andouille and crawfish with Cajun seasoning (skip anchovy paste) Spanish - use merguez and shrimp, add olives and use oregano rather than basil The options are endless!