Shrimp Bolognese

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Published October 23, 2018

  • An oval platter of ribbons of pasta is topped with shrimp bolognese; an empty skillet with a wooden spoon shows the remains of the sauce and a sprig of tarragon is set nearby.
    Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Martha Tinkler
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(689)
Comments
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This fishy take on the classic pasta sauce does everything the original does but with much less cooking. Tagliatelle is great, but you can use most other pasta shapes.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • ½ small fennel bulb, roughly chopped

  • ½ small onion, roughly chopped

  • 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

  • ½ teaspoon red-chile flakes

  • 1 ⅓ pounds/600 grams peeled, raw king prawns or extra-jumbo shrimp (or use the largest shrimp you can find)

  • ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon/90 milliliters olive oil

  • 1 lemon, finely shaved to get 5 strips of peel and squeezed to get 1 tablespoon juice

  • 3 tarragon sprigs (about 5 grams), plus 1 tablespoon chopped leaves for serving

  • 3 ½ tablespoons tomato paste

  • ¼ pound/120 grams cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

  • Salt and black pepper

  • ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon/90 milliliters Pernod (or a similar anise liqueur)

  • 2 cups/500 milliliters chicken or vegetable stock

  • 12 ounces/320 grams dried tagliatelle pasta

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

79 grams carbs; 247 milligrams cholesterol; 969 calories; 29 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 43 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1261 milligrams sodium; 47 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add the fennel, onion, garlic and chile flakes to the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 10 times, until more finely chopped. Add the shrimp and pulse another 10 times, until finely chopped. (Don’t process too much; you don’t want the shrimp to turn to a paste. Smaller shrimp will require less pulsing, though.)

  2. Step 2

    Add ⅓ cup/70 milliliters oil to a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat with the lemon peel and tarragon sprigs. Gently fry for 2 minutes, then add the shrimp and fennel mixture. Fry, stirring every now and then for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp have released and then reabsorbed their liquid.

  3. Step 3

    Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt and a very generous amount of black pepper and fry for 4 minutes, stirring every now and then until the tomato paste becomes thick and sticky and begins to brown. Carefully pour in the Pernod and let it bubble away for 1 minute (it may flame).

  4. Step 4

    Add the stock and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, turn the heat down to medium and simmer gently for 15 minutes, lowering the heat if it is bubbling too much. Discard the tarragon sprigs and lemon peel.

  5. Step 5

    Meanwhile, cook the pasta per package instructions until al dente, then drain well and add to a large bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss together well. Transfer to a platter and drizzle over the remaining tablespoon/20 milliliters oil. Finish with plenty of pepper and the chopped tarragon and serve.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
689 user ratings
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Comments

Jim

If you're going to pulse them, you don't need the largest shrimp you can find, which can also be the most expensive. The smaller the shrimp, the less time in the processor, if at all.

Rob-in-Philly

Spoiler alert. DON'T "pulse" the shrimp with the other ingredients, add the "diced" shrimp in the last 3-5 min, otherwise they get overdone and rubbery. I agree with DRC PGH...finish the pasta in the sauce. Also to kick it up a notch, add a few whole shrimp in for each serving. for the last 3-4 min and add the pasta...

Laurie

Tasty! Was like others - why buy big shrimp just to chop up. Should’ve trusted Ottolenghi! When made with small shrimp added near end, this was bland, with virtually no shrimp flavor. Made it second time with pulsed, medium big shrimp (not biggest). It was SO much better. Very flavorful! Second time I cooked shrimp as in recipe and - surprisingly - they weren’t tough at all. Pernod was too dominant the first time around, so second time subbed sherry plus 1tsp crushed fennel seeds. Perfect.

Jen C ATL

I didn't pulse my shrimp, I just chopped them up. Like others I think the texture of the shrimp suffers from cooking the pieces for so long.

Yotam not Ottolenghi

Best version of a non-meat “bologense”, in 20+ years vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian. Our only cooking notes would be to use your common sense re cooking times - let the liquids reduce even if more time is needed. The texture of the shrimps was still perfect and it packed so much flavor.

Lisa G

This is a fantastic recipe. I used the large shrimp because I think they hold up their texture better when chopped up. It’s nice to have some minced small with other larger chunks. The fragrance of the Pernod and tarragon was wonderful while it was cooking. I used more cherry tomatoes and way less salt ( the NYT recipes are way too loaded with salt!). It was a huge hit with my husband who loves bolognese but can’t eat red meat anymore. I think I will make this again and again.

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