Spicy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp

This is not your usually creamy pasta, it's an oil and butter based sauce, seasoned with garlic and peppers. The shrimp is not needed, but gives it some protein that every meal should include. Use chicken or anything else you'd like, but I feel the shrimp lends itself to the flavors.

Ingredients:

• Pasta (see note below)
• 5-6 fresh garlic cloves (see note below)
• Fresh peppers (see note below)
• Red pepper flakes
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Shrimp (see note below)
• Lemon (see note below)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley

Instructions:

Shrimp:

1. Slice 2-3 garlic cloves.
2. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan and heat it up. Once at heat add a few tablespoons of butter.
3. Put garlic in oil/butter and fry for a few moments to let flavors out.
4. Add shrimp to frying pan, grate some pepper on and sprinkle on some red pepper flakes.
5. Fry shrimp until cooked, doesn't take long, a few moments, they'll turn pink as they cook.
6. Remove shrimp from frying pan and spritz with lemon juice. Set aside.

Pasta:

1. Pour several tablespoons of oil into a frying pan and bring to heat, then add about a quarter cup butter and bring up to heat.
2. Slice 3-4 cloves of garlic thinly and add to pan.
3. Slice 1-2 peppers thinly and add to pan.
4. Stir fry the garlic and peppers in the oil for a few moments to release oil and heat.
5. Sprinkle in some red pepper flakes.
6. Pasta should be done by now, do not strain, leave in water and use tongs to move from the water to the frying pan.
7. Start mixing it up, try to coat all the pasta with the oil.
8. After a moment or two add some of the pasta water to the frying pan, this will help thicken the sauce and coat better.
9. Add Parmesan cheese, liberally. Then stir. Then add more cheese and stir again.
10. Grate some pepper on top.
11. Add the shrimp to the pasta and stir to combine.
12. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top and serve with a side of garlic bread (see note below).

Notes:

• Pasta: I prefer fettuccine, but use what you have on hand, linguine, spaghetti, or whatever, follow package instructions for serving size and preparation methods.
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves and slice thinly, as thin as possible. Think Goodfellas here, but you don't need to use a razor blade, a sharp knife will suffice nicely.
• Peppers: The original recipe I followed called for Holland Peppers but I've never been able to get my hands on any. I've tried Fresno and Caribe, the Fresno is better due to the color and I think it has a better taste, but I suspect jalapeno would work nicely as well. The key here is the something with some heat to it, and make sure you slice these as thinly as the garlic. You don't necessarily want the seeds in the sauce, but if they get in it's not a problem.
• Shrimp: Use whatever amount you like, I usually use 1 pound for a family of 3. You want them deveined and shelled, you don't need people picking parts out of the pasta when it's so easy to make it right in the first place.
• Lemon: I like to use a fresh lemon and spritz the shrimp, but bottled lemon concentrate will work if that's all you have.
• Garlic Bread: Super simple to make, take some bread (I like to use Texas Toast), melt a tablespoon of butter per slice, take 1-2 peeled cloves of garlic and grate it into the melted butter using a super fine grater, a lemon zester or something similar. Paint the butter mixture onto the bread using a basting brush, and put it in the oven under broil until toasted.