Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Shrimp in creamy Mozzarella sauce. Italian pasta recipe. Gluten free pasta.

Ingredients
Pasta:

• 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free version, use gluten free brown rice pasta)

Shrimp:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (drained from sun-dried tomatoes jar or just use regular olive oil)
• 1 pound shrimp (without shells, and deveined)
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Creamy Sauce:

• 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes (without oil)
• 4 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded (do not use fresh Mozzarella, use pre-shredded Mozzarella)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil (if using fresh basil you can add more)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes , crushed, add more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
How to cook pasta

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain the pasta.

How to cook shrimp

1. Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing the shrimp as described below:
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see note above, or use regular olive oil) in a large skillet on medium-high heat. 
3. Add shrimp with minced garlic.  Cook the shrimp on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pink or golden brown on that side. While it cooks, sprinkle salt over the shrimp to cover every single shrimp.