Spicy Cavatelli with Rock Shrimp

How this dish came to be:

I made this dish for the first time after reading Heat by Bill Buford. I read somewhere in the book that Mario Batali uses orange zest in some of his pastas and thought that it was an idea that I really liked. I then had to figure out some items that orange zest might go well with and thought of shrimp.

A couple of months before this, I made an adaptation of Marcus Samuelssons Shrimp Piri Piri from his cookbook, Soul of a New Cuisine (a great cookbook to read when trying to find new inspiration) using rock shrimp and some different spices and really enjoyed it. I thought marinated Rock Shrimp might be a nice candidate for pairing with the orange zest.

I then rummaged through the cupboard looking for some other things that I might be able to throw in and found jarred artichoke hearts and sweet red peppers in vinegar—two things I really enjoy on their own. Why not use those in my pasta?

I then decided that a pasta that had all of these things and just tasted like orange might not be that good, so I tried thinking of some other ways to alter the taste. Finally, I decided that I should make the dish somewhat spicy.

The end result is this:



This dish also pairs extremely well with Kabinett Riesling. During the dinner we had an ’05 Kartauserhofsburg that was excellent.

Other ’05 Rieslings I really enjoy are Selbach Oster, Donnhoff, St. Urban’s Hoff, Joh. Jos. Prum (if you can splurge), Spreitzer, and Darting (more budget)





And here is the recipe:

1 pound cavatelli
1 pound rock shrimp
4 marinated artichoke hearts, quartered, juice discarded
2-4 oz marinated sweet red peppers, juice discarded
Zest of one medium sized orange
¼ cup + 3 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 Tbsp Italian Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 tsp sea salt
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2-4 tsp red pepper flakes
¼ lemon wedge
1 blood orange (if desired)


For the shrimp—

In a blender or food processor, add ¼ cup olive oil, garlic cloves, sea salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Blend briefly, and then mix in 1 tbsp parsley.

Place shrimp in a Ziploc bag and spoon mixture over shrimp, using your fingers to make sure the marinade gets to every surface.

Let sit for at least an hour

Boil water for cavatelli

Discard juice from artichoke hearts and peppers and place each on a separate baking tray. Place each under broiler (at separate times) to partially blacken. This should take 5-7 minutes for the artichokes and 4-6 for the peppers. (Cooking time will vary depending on strength of broiler)


Place rock shrimp on a broiler tray and place in broiler for 8-12 minutes, flipping half way through.

While shrimp is in the broiler, place the cavatelli in boiling water, cavatelli will be done after 8-12 minutes. (It will rise to the surface). It’s always good to taste the cavatelli before removing from water to make sure the texture is to your liking.

When pasta is close to ready, begin to heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Drain pasta and wait till oil is hot (it will be more fluid when swirled in pan)

Add in red pepper flakes and remaining black pepper. Then add pasta, shrimp, artichoke hearts and peppers.

Finally, stir in orange zest and remaining parsley and sprinkle on the juice form the lemon wedge to help unstuck any pasta that might be stuck to the skillet.

Remove and serve with a wedge of blood orange for garnish. The juice from the blood orange also enhances the taste of the pasta.