CI: Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chili Pepper

Finally, at last, things have settled down a bit in life and I can start getting more involved with some of my favorite baking blogs. Today's recipe is from my fellow Cooking Italy bloggers who are cooking their way through Marcella Hazan's book "Essentials of  Classic Italian Cooking." 

Marcella Hazan has some seriously amazing recipes out there. This one I thought I would like more than I did. I love shrimp. And I've not been done wrong with the sauces I've made before from her book. I just wasn't too thrilled with the combination of the two in this case. Although I seriously loved the sauce and ate half a loaf of mozarella garlic bread with it. Seriously yummy.

Of course, I cheated a little bit as I usually do with a lot of recipes. Instead of using Red Hot Chili Pepper, I went instead with Ancho Chili Powder which was milder but still gave it a nicely zesty kick. And having tolerated this fairly well, I'm thinking that some year, I might be able to gradually move my way up the chili path to something spicier. Also, I went with cooked shrimp from the fishmonger at Jewel instead of trying to devein and peel the shrimp.

SHRIMP WITH TOMATOES AND CHILI PEPPER

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp chopped onion

2 tsp chopped garlic

Red Hot Chili Pepper to taste

3 tbsp chopped parsley

1 2/3 cups canned plum tomatoes, cut up with juice

Salt

1 1/2 to 2 lbs unshelled medium shrimp

Mozarella Garlic Bread (or any other crusty oven browned bread)

Cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and chili pepper. When garlic becomes golden, add parsley and tomatoes. Stir thoroughly and cook for approx 20 minutes or until  oil separates from tomatoes. Stir in prepared shrimp and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until coated. Serve with crusty bread to dip in sauce. Serves 4-6.