Pasta with spicy shrimp and tomatoes

I randomly pulled out a fine cooking magazine to make something for dinner with the ingredients in mind of 'pasta', as given by my four year old when asked what she wanted to eat.  This dish was easy to make and no fancy gadgets used!

Software:

• 1 lb. shrimp (deveined and tail removed)
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 lb. pasta (I used Angel hair)
• Artisinal bread (i.e. fancy bread) for breadcrumbs. (I bought a loaf of sourdough)
• 2 shallots diced
• 1 tbs.  parsley
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 5 tbs. olive oil.
• s&p to taste.

Hardware

• Anolon Wok
• Global 8-Inch 20cm Cook's Knife
• Large pot to boil the pasta
• Silicone Gripper Tongs, Red
• Mixing Bowls, Set of 3
• Black & Decker HC306 1-1/2-Cup One-Touch Electric Chopper

Start by boiling water in the large pot for the pasta. While that is on the stove, prepare the shrimp.

Add the 2 tbs. of olive oil,shrimp, cayenne powder, red pepper flakes, parsley and s&p.  Mix well together making sure everything gets coated. 

Shred the bread into mini pieces (I used the mini chopper for this).  Add the 2 tbs. of olive oil into the wok and let it get hot.  Add the bread and stir.  (you're making bread crumbs here).  Add a little s&p for taste.  This should be about 3 minutes.  When done, remove and put aside in another bowl.  Hopefully at this time, the water should be boiling, so add the pasta.

Now for the tedious part, take all your tomatoes and cut them in half.  I haven't found a device that will save you from individually cutting every tomatoe, but that's what knife skills are for.  Put them aside.  When you're done, peel and dice the shallots (go food chooper) and add the remaining olive oil (that's 1tbs. of oil for those not counting) to the wok and saute the shallots until they are a medium brown.

After, add the shrimp mixture and tomatoes into the wok with the shallots and stir for about 3 minutes. 

Drain the pasta from the water (should be a little bit al-dente) then add into the wok.  Save around 2 cups of the pasta water.  The pasta may be a little dry when mixed in with the shrimp.  Slowly add the pasta water into the wok to keep everything moist.  Stir-fry this for about 2-3 more minutes making sure to fold in all the ingredients into the pasta.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add more cayene powder if you want it more spicy.

Put the pasta into individual bowls and sprinkle on the breadcrumbs.  The breadcrumbs added texture which definitely made this dish a lot more interesting!

*cooks note, my daughter had pasta with butter and parmesan cheese.