Jalapenos are a common choice for this dish; red fresnos which are slightly hotter and sweeter than jalapenos are an excellent step up in flavor but sometimes hard to find. Serves 2-4.

Salt (kosher or unprocessed sea salt preferably)

½ pound pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 ounces pancetta or bacon (Both are made from pork belly; pancetta is cured and unsmoked, bacon is cured and smoked. Both need to be cooked. You might want to rinse bacon first, if that is what you have available, to tone down the intense smoky flavor if that suits your taste better.)

4 ounces large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and sliced lengthwise if you want them to cook faster and distribute more evenly throughout the pasta

1 medium chile pepper, seeded and sliced into thin rings

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard cheese of your choice)

½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

Add pasta to a large pot of well-salted boiling water and cook until al dente

In large skillet or heavy pan over medium-low heat, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil and cook the bacon or pancetta to render the fat and crisp the meat. Remove meat to drain, leave about 1 tablespoon fat, and store any remaining fat separately to flavor another dish later.

Raise heat to medium and add remaining olive oil. When hot, add shrimp, garlic and pepper flakes. Stir quickly and often so garlic does not burn, generally about 2 minutes; the shrimp should be slightly undercooked.

Remove shrimp to a warm bowl. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta to cooking pan, add pancetta, shrimp and reserved pasta water. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Toss and stir until the juices have combined and the shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add chile peppers, cheese and basil. Do not stir. Serve immediately.

Allison's Article:

What’s In Your Pantry? Endless Pasta Possibilities

Allison St. Claire loves to dream about, study, grow, play with, prepare and ultimately enjoy eating great food.

Meet Allison