Capellini with Shrimp (Karidesli Uzun Makarna)

When I was little, I used love the long strands of spaghetti (I know this recipe is not really spaghetti but in the same category). I still do! It must be universal that most kids like spaghetti. I loathed the way my mom would cut the spaghetti in half prior to cooking. I wanted to be able to roll the strands of spaghetti around my fork, nevertheless, every time she cut the strands of long pasta in half. She thought it was too long and not easy to eat, but I thought it was fun! Well now, I can cook my spaghetti or any kind of long pasta any way I want! Although, traditionally it is not common to cook pasta with seafood in Turkey, I think now more people cook it with seafood.


½ package Capellini
1 lb shrimp
2 tbsp fresh thyme (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp red pepper paste
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup milk
2 tsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley
3 cups water

For Boiling Pasta:

½ tsp canola oil
½ tsp salt
½ full pot of water

To Prepare the Sauce:

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Add chopped garlic, fresh thyme and basil and sauté for one minute. Add shrimp to be cooked partially. When the shrimp just turns a little pink on both sides remove from heat and set aside in a plate. Add the rest of the olive oil in the pan and when it starts sizzling, add the white wine. Dissolve the tomato and red pepper paste in the water and add to pan. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the milk, the honey and salt. Stir the sauce and let it simmer until it thickens a little.

To Cook the Pasta:

Boil water for cooking the pasta. Thin pasta only needs 3-4 minutes to cook. Therefore, prepare the sauce before cooking the pasta. As soon as the water boils, add salt and oil so that the pasta does not stick together.

Once the pasta sauce thickens, add the shrimp back in the pan and add the pasta immediately. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix well and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.