
Originally I wanted to make a tasty Cajun shrimp pasta, however Cajun seasoning doesn’t really exist in Ukraine and I don’t plan on flying home anytime soon. I could always make my own but instead I thought, why not take advantage of the spice blends easily available to me. Enter: Shashlik shrimp pasta. This seasoning is normally used for meats like lamb or pork on a kebab skewer, but I find it works great with shellfish as well. I use Penne pasta for this recipe since I had some left over after making my Penne with Pork Belly, but you can use whatever pasta you like.

Shashlik seasoning is a mix of basil, chili pepper, red sweet pepper, zira, ginger, thyme, nutmeg, coriander, black pepper, taste and scent intensifier (sodium glutamate). Of course depending on the brand you buy there might be some differences.

This dish is actually really easy, and quick. Because shrimp doesn’t take a long time at all to cook you can make this dish start to finish in less than 15 minutes. I toss the peeled and deveined shrimps with about 50 grams of shashlik seasoning and then sauteed them in a pan with a good amount of butter.

Right when the butter is melted I add in the chopped tomatoes and a bit of cream. I don’t want the shrimps to turn to rubber so they finish cooking in the sauce. This way I don’t have to remove the shrimp before making the sauce. Because of the shashlik seasoning mix, I don’t actually add any extra spices. So once the sauce reduces for a bit, I just add it to the pasta and give everything a good mix. Well, not before adding a bit of cheese for good measure.

Usually I like to finish this shashlik shrimp pasta in the saucepan, however this time as there was so much sauce I just put everything into a big bowl and mixed it up. Plate and garnish with a bit of parsley and grated cheese. Enjoy!

Shashlik Shrimp Pasta
Equipment
- Pot
- Pan
Ingredients
- 400 grams Pasta I used penne, but you can use whatever you like
- 500 grams Shrimp peeled and de-veined
- 50 grams Shashlik Spice Mix Can be bought online or at your local Russian market (if you have one).
- 75 ml Heavy Cream
- 3 Tomatoes chopped
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 50 grams Gran Padano grated, or Parmesan.
Instructions
- In a bowl toss the shrimp and shashlik spices together. It is okay if not all the spices stick to the shrimp, we are adding everything to the pan anyway. Start a pot of salted boiling water
- In a hot pan add the butter and pour in the bowl of shashlik shrimp. Add the dry pasta to the boiling water.
- Toss the shrimp and once the butter melts add in the chopped tomatoes and heavy cream. Turn the heat down to medium. Stir the pot making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add half of the grated Gran Padano or Parmesan cheese.
- When the pasta is al dente drain the pot and add the pasta to the pan (or just put everything in a big bowl and mix it up.
- Plate the pasta, rip up some parsley for the top as well as sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Enjoy!
Notes

That looks SO amazing!! wow!
Thank you so much!