Everything cooks quickly, so this whole thing comes together pretty fast. Prep what you can before you start. If you have an electric kettle, put some water on for the pasta. I’m using some nice bronze-die bucatini that should cook fairly quickly, so I’ll just pour boiling water over rather than dirtying a pot.
Frozen shrimp. A couple handfuls in a nonstick pan. If they’ve been in the freezer for a while and have some ice on them, run them under water first. You don’t need the extra water in the pan.
Medium heat. Cover it, if you have a lid. You just want to let the shrimp thaw. A minute or two. Remove the lid and let any water in the pan evaporate.
Add some olive oil. Maybe a couple tablespoons. Also, some minced garlic and finely diced shallot or white onion. As that comes back to temp, season the shrimp. I added a healthy shake of italian herb, a pinch of cayenne, a shake of paprika, and a couple shakes of lemon pepper seasoning. Cook and flip shrimp another minute or so. They’ll only be about half way done at this point, and the onion should just be translucent.
This is also a good time to get the pasta in the water. I just put my bucatini in a deli container and poured boiling water over. It should be cooked in the five or so minutes it takes to finish the sauce.
Add some wine. White wine. Half a glass for the shrimp, half a glass for you. Let it reduce slightly. When the shrimp are just almost done, throw in a pat of butter. Half a tablespoon or so. Once it’s melted, toss in your pasta and kill the heat. Toss, toss, toss. The butter and wine should be forming a nice emulsion. Add a splash of your starchy pasta water if you need to loosen it up.
Bowl it. Bucatini is some wiggly stuff. If you have some fresh herb, this would be a good time to chop some up. Parsley, cilantro. Also, some grated parm, a squeeze of lemon, or some fresh cracked pepper are welcome additions.