Mexican Shrimp Pasta in Creamy Sauce with Pico De Gallo Recipe

From corn and tomatoes to chile peppers, cheeses, and spices, the essential ingredients used in Mexican cooking offer endless inspiration for fusion experimentation. Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for a Mexican-inspired pasta featuring shrimp and a creamy cheese sauce. The smooth and velvety sauce is made by creating a roux with butter and flour and then adding milk to make a béchamel sauce. Melting cheese into the sauce turns it into a mornay sauce, with Monterey Jack specifically fitting this Mexican-inspired recipe. The creamy pasta is topped with shrimp cooked in a flavorful spice blend, and at first bite, the bold flavor of the shrimp and spices provides a pleasant complement to the milder, rich cream sauce.

The shrimp pasta would be tasty on its own, but topping it with pico de gallo, cilantro, and avocado gives it an extra burst of fresh flavor that enhances the dish, and the shrimp and pico de gallo contain a subtle pop of heat. It not only tastes great, but the vibrant colors of the fresh ingredients create a beautiful presentation that enhances the appeal — we all know that beautiful dishes taste better.

The first step of this recipe is making pico de gallo. You will need ripe plum tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. For the spiced shrimp, gather peeled and deveined shrimp, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. The pasta used in this recipe is fettuccine, and to make the sauce, you will need unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, milk, Monterey Jack, seafood broth, salt, and ground cayenne. Finally, have avocado and cilantro on hand for serving.

Add all of the pico de gallo ingredients to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While the water is heating, make the shrimp: Start by placing the shrimp, ½ tablespoon olive oil, and the spices in a large bowl. Toss until the shrimp are evenly coated.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium-high.

Place the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes per side, until the inside is opaque. Remove from the heat and set aside. Work in batches if you don’t have a large pan.

When the water is boiling, add the fettuccine and cook until al dente according to the package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: First, melt the butter in a wide saucepan on medium-low.

When it’s very hot, add the flour, whisking continuously until bubbly and the flour cooks, about 45 seconds.

Pour in the milk and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble.

Add the cheese and stir with a wooden spoon until completely melted, about 1 minute.

Pour in the broth and whisk until warmed.

Stir in the salt and cayenne pepper. Keep the sauce warm on a warming burner or a burner set to low if the pasta isn’t ready yet.

When the pasta is almost done, scoop out ¼ cup of pasta cooking water and set aside.

Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce, and mix until evenly coated, adding some of the reserved pasta water if necessary to achieve a smooth and creamy result.

Divide the pasta evenly on 4 individual dishes and place ¼ of the shrimp on top of each serving.

Spoon ¼ of the pico de gallo and chopped avocado on top of the dishes and top with cilantro.

Serve immediately.

The sauce in this shrimp pasta is simple to make, but you must take care to perform the steps correctly and avoid ending up with clumpy or curdled cheese, burned milk, and a hard-to-clean pan. First, keep the heat on medium-low and whisk continuously. If you overcook the butter and flour mixture, it will darken or burn, so keep the cooking time to less than a minute. Keep whisking while you cook the milk, too, and don’t stop before it thickens up. 

Make sure you’ve grated or shredded the cheese or diced it small before adding it to the pan. It’s difficult to melt larger pieces evenly. Just add a small handful of cheese at a time. Stir the cheese continuous with a wooden spoon, and once it has melted, you can add more. Luckily, mornay sauce won’t solidify when cool, but keep the sauce on a warming burner if the pasta isn’t ready right away to hold it at the ideal temperature and consistency.

Buying store-bought seafood broth is a convenient way to have broth on hand when you cook, but it’s not as readily available as other kinds of broth. It’s possible to make your own seafood broth for this Mexican shrimp pasta recipe, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. The easiest way to do this is to make a broth with shrimp shells. If you purchase shrimp with shells and peel them yourself for this recipe, you will have the material needed to make a quick and tasty broth without buying any extra ingredients.

All you have to do is add 1–2 cups of water to a pot for the shells extracted from one pound of shrimp. Place the shells in the water, add a couple pinches of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Once the water boils, lower it to a simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes. After that time has passed, remove the pan from the heat and strain the broth to separate it from the shells. This method will give you about 1 ½ cups of broth, which is a little more than you need for this recipe. The broth will be extra fresh and have a purer taste than what you can buy in the store, and it won’t cost a penny more.