Why This Recipe Works

A quick sauce of pantry ingredients made for a bright, briny rendition of weeknight shrimp pasta. We started by cutting the shrimp into bite sized pieces, then tossed them with salt while cooking the pasta to ensure they were seasoned throughout. We cooked sliced garlic in ample olive oil until it was brown and toasty, then added in the seasoned shrimp for a quick cook. We added the garlicky shrimp to our pasta along with Parmesan, basil, capers, and chopped pepperoncini (plus a splash of their brine) for a lively-yet-simple sauce.

Before You Begin

We prefer untreated shrimp—those without added sodium or preservatives such as sodium tripolyphosphate. To see more of our favorite weeknight pastas, check out this collection.

Instructions

Sprinkle 1½ pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into ½-inch pieces, with ¼ teaspoon table salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and refrigerate until ready to use. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add 12 ounces orecchiette and 1 tablespoon table salt and cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

Heat ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook until just opaque, about 4 minutes.

Off heat, add pasta, ½ cup grated Parmesan, ¼ cup chopped pepperoncini and 1 tablespoon brine, ¼ cup rinsed capers, ¼ cup chopped basil, and reserved cooking water and toss to combine. Serve, passing lemon wedges and extra Parmesan separately.