Creamy Cajun Pasta with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage
In keeping with my theme for 2019, Cooking with Friends and Family, I recently invited over a few girlfriends for a Pasta Making Pajama Party. None of them had ever made homemade pasta before. So as soon as they arrived I handed them an apron and glass of wine. Two essential tools in my kitchen.
Many years ago we had a family tradition of making homemade pasta on a Friday night. It was such a fun activity for the whole family. I’ve always used the food processor method of making the dough. Using the food processor creates a dough in about 2 minutes or less. Amazingly fast. From there you knead it on the counter for about 3-5 minutes Next you let it rest for about 45-60 minutes so the gluten can relax. After that it’s time to roll out the dough and cut it into fettuccine. Click here for a basic tutorial in how to make homemade pasta using a food processor and a pasta rolling/cutting machine.
In my recent research on making fresh pasta I discovered that in order to get the most tender pasta you should use TIPO 00 flour. This is a super fine flour that all true Italian chefs prefer when making fresh pasta. Lucky for me I was able to locate some in my small city. But much like my search for the special White Lily Flour that I use in my Buttermilk Biscuits, I will most likely need to source this flour in a specialty shop or order it online. Yes, you can use all-purpose flour as I have done many times. However, there was a huge difference in the finished product when using the special 00 flour. So tender and silky.
Only 4 ingredients needed for this pasta.
Everyone helps by rolling and cutting the pasta:
Giving Mallory a quick tutorial on how to use the pasta roller.
Mallory cuts the fettuccine. Perfect to soak up our beautiful cajun cream sauce.
Kristin proudly shows how her little ball of dough got stretched to nearly 2.5 feet.
Christie has her turn. Won’t mention how often she pulled the handle out and dropped it on the floor!
Fresh pasta just waiting to be cooked. A quick 2 minutes in boiling, salted water.
Now to prepare the sauce:
After each of us took turns rolling and cutting our pasta dough into fettuccine strips we got down to business making a delicious sauce. I chose one of my favorite sauces. Creamy Cajun Sauce with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage. My recipe is an adaptation of one of Emeril Lagasse’s from his 1995 book, New New Orleans Cooking.
Friends doing all the prep for our sauce. Chop, chop, chop.
Kristin ready to saute the Andouille Sausage.
Sauteed Andouille, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Now to add back the shrimp, cream and spices.
Ready to plate.
It was an absolute delight sharing an evening of cooking, laughing and eating with these special friends. Seeing them discover some brand new ways of cooking as well as watching them use some kitchen tools that they didn’t even know the names of was so much fun. I got the easy part of the cooking. My job was to sip wine while giving them instructions on how to put it all together. They were such great sports and were so proud of putting together an absolutely delicious meal.
Nothing better than cooking and eating with sweet friends.
So grab some friends for a fun night in your kitchen. Not only will you enjoy the food, but more importantly you’ll have made some sweet memories together.
Creamy Cajun Pasta with Shrimp and Andouille
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning blend Emeril's Essence
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (total)
- 1 pound Andouille/Cajun sausage diced
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms diced
- 8 green onions, sliced 1/2 inch
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot cajun sauce Crystal
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 pound fettuccine
Instructions
- In medium bowl, toss shrimp in cajun spice. Set aside
- Heat large, deep skillet over medium high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and diced Andouille sausage. Cook for 5 minutes until browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Add shrimp. Saute 2 minutes. Stirring frequently. Remove shrimp from pan. Transfer to plate and reserve.
- Turn heat down to medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mushrooms and green onions.
- Saute vegetables for about 5 minutes.
- Add fresh garlic to pan. Stir and saute 2 minutes.
- Add back to pan the reserved Andouille sausage and shrimp. Stir to combine.
- Pour in cream, worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to to combine.
- Let cream come up to slow simmer (3-4 minutes). Will thicken slightly.
- Stir in Parmesan Cheese.
- Drain fresh pasta and add to skillet.
- Stir gently to combine.
- Serve while hot. Add additional hot sauce at the table to increase spice.
