Silky and cheesy, and oh so comforting, that is what this dish is. The shrimp are soft, buttery and not overcooked. The slight tartness of the chopped tomatoes simmered down with the garlic and onions, and the gooey goodness of the cheese is a wonderful feast in your mouth. With that extra spice from the chillies and you might as well skip into the rest of the week with not a care in the world. Yes, slightly exaggerated, but the truth is that this cheesy shrimp sauce is very, very good and when you have a super-duper shrimp plug, as I do, then this does not become an expensive affair.
You could opt to use only vegetable oil for this dish, but butter elevates this dish and gives it that richness that makes it rather addictive. As spices are kept to a minimum, the addition of butter gives the sauce a richness that beautifully complements the tartness of the tomato, the softness of the shrimp and the freshness of the coriander leaves.
I could eat this every day without fail, but then I remember, everything in moderation except in this shrimp recipe where I pile on the heat. So I shake my fists at the sky without fail until it is time to indulge. I do wonder whether an Italian grandma is cringing somewhere because I mixed cheese and seafood. I have heard unsubstantiated rumours. If you belong to the cilantro-tastes-soapy-in-my-mouth group then substitute the coriander for another herb. Maybe parsley? They may look similar but the tastes couldn't be further apart. Using any other herb will surely change the flavour profile of your dish, however, I do believe that out of substitution can come innovation. And who knows your dish may even taste better?
Now when it comes to cheese, depending on where you are in the world, it can either be quite affordable or ridiculously expensive. If you do not want to want to buy cheese that costs you an arm and a leg, you can substitute parmesan with any other cheese.
For this cheesy shrimp sauce, I prefer a portion of spaghetti or tagliatelle which must be al dente. I get recurring nightmares of mushy rice, mushy pasta, and my teeth falling out, the ultimate trinity of all things scary. I am not sure what this means but it can't be good. This dish is a dream and a nice one at that so do give it a go.
If you are a visual person then the video below should be helpful.
Cheesy Shrimp Sauce with Coriander
Ingredients
- 30 grams butter
- 12 medium shrimps peeled and deveined
- olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped
- ½ tsp tomato paste
- 3 large tomatoes chopped
- black pepper
- salt
- 2 handfuls Parmesan cheese grated or shredded
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
Instructions
- Over high heat, melt butter in a pan and fry shrimp for 1 min.
- Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.
- Add olive oil to a pan and fry onions, chillies, tomato paste and then garlic.
- Add tomatoes and let cook through over low heat for about 20 min and add some stock or water if the sauce dries out and let simmer.
- Add shrimps, and cheese to sauce and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes. The shrimp will finish cooking in that time.
- Add coriander leaves, stir and take the pan off the heat.
- Serve with spaghetti or tagliatelle.
Andrew says
Cheese sauce with no cheese in the recipe??
Edinam says
Hello Andrew, I realised that indeed I had forgetten to put parmesan cheese in the ingredient list but somehow managed to get it into the method. I have updated the ingredient list accordingly.