Recipes Spaghettini with Shrimp, Tomatoes and Chile Crumbs 5.0 (2,056) 1 Review Dan Kluger adds crunch to this delicious shrimp and summer tomato pasta with crisp lemon-chile crumbs. Slideshow: More Delicious Recipes Featuring Summer Produce By Dan Kluger Dan Kluger Won Best New Chef at: ABC Kitchen, New York City. Born: 1973; New York City. Experience: Union Square Cafe, Tabla and Core Club, New York City. How he started cooking: “I began my restaurant career in the front of the house at Union Square Cafe and spent my days off in the kitchen learning about cooking. Once I got going, it was hard to leave.” How he got the job at ABC: “I met ABC Kitchen co-owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Union Square farmer’s market at the Berried Treasures stand. We were both shopping, and we started talking, and before I knew it, I was interviewing for the job.” Memorable cooking experience: Preparing the food for his own wedding. “We prepped all the food a couple of days before, then I hired chefs from Tabla to cook at the wedding. [Restaurateur] Danny Meyer was there, Floyd [Cardoz, chef at North End Grill] was there, Mike Romano [chef at Union Square Cafe] was there—so many people I look up to. To have them eating my food was really exciting. I made roast suckling pig, steamed halibut, grilled quail. My mom baked the wedding cake. Floyd couldn’t stay out of the kitchen; he kept trying to help.” Pet peeve: Young cooks who leave good jobs too quickly. “I cooked for Floyd at Tabla for seven years. I learned something even on my last day.” Favorite childhood dish: Stollen, the rich German bread filled with dried fruit. “At Christmas, my mom made tons of stollen. She also made lemon curd. It was the oddest pairing, but since I liked them both so much, I’d always stuff my face. I can remember opening my gifts with a big plate of stollen in front of me.” Cheap eat: Roast pork buns in Chinatown. “I’ll get them pretty much anyplace.” Guilty pleasure: M&M’s. “Plain or pretzel.” Ingredient obsession: “I am definitely obsessed with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes when they’re in season. I use them everywhere: raw in salads, lightly cooked in pastas and just barely warmed in broths and sauces.” Favorite kitchen tool: Microplane. “I use it to grate cheese, citrus, ginger, nuts, chocolate.” Memorable meal: First meal at New York City’s Per Se. “It was my wife, Hannah’s, birthday. I still remember the way everybody—from the back waiter to the host—looked her in her eyes and said ‘Happy Birthday!’” Favorite wine: Black Chicken Zinfandel from Napa’s Robert Biale. “Anyone who knows me well buys a bottle for me as a Christmas gift.” After-hours hangout: 8th Street Winecellar. “They make the best pork sandwich I’ve ever had, with shredded meat and spicy pickled jalapeño mayo.” Fantasy restaurant: “I’d like to do something with conveyor belts, like you see at sushi restaurants, but with a lot of the farm ingredients I use now. It would take a lot of errors out of service.” What he’d be if he weren’t a chef: A furniture maker. “I’m a hands-on guy. I’ve built four or five pieces of furniture in my life.” Favorite cookbook: Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio. Twitter heros: “Chef Sean Brock—I find that he’s always saying something interesting. I follow some fashion people too, either to learn something or to stay up on them so when I see them at the restaurant I know what’s going on. I absolutely adore Rachel Roy and Lela Rose. If I see on Twitter that Lela had a show, I can send her a note saying congratulations.” Favorite app: Chefs Feed, which compiles restaurant recommendations from chefs. “When I was in Chicago recently, it was very helpful.” Best food gift: A chitarra, a frame strung with music wire to cut fresh pasta by hand. “Usually, I don’t feel like my parents really apply themselves when it comes to presents. They’ll say, ‘What does he want? Some new underwear? A new shirt? Great.’ But one year a box showed up on my birthday, and it was a chitarra. The New York Times had done a piece on it and my dad thought it would be a cool gift for me. It was mind-blowing.” Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 21, 2020 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Con Poulos Total Time: 45 mins Yield: 4 Ingredients 2 large plum tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), cored and scored on the bottoms with an X 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Salt Freshly ground pepper 1 cup coarse, dried sourdough bread crumbs (about 2 ounces) 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest Crushed red pepper 12 ounces spaghettini 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined 2 tablespoons finely shredded basil 1/2 pound heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved Directions Preheat the oven to 450°. Put the plum tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Roast for about 20 minutes, just until the skins loosen and the tomatoes are barely softened. Let cool slightly, then peel the tomatoes. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the tomatoes back into the baking dish and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the bread crumbs and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and a pinch of crushed red pepper and season with salt. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and wipe out the skillet. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until barely al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. In the large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Season the shrimp with salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper and cook over high heat, tossing once or twice, until barely cooked, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the basil and pasta along with the reserved pasta cooking water and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are white throughout and the pasta is coated in a light sauce, about 1 minute. Transfer the pasta to bowls and scatter the cherry tomatoes all around. Top with the tomato sauce and bread crumbs. Serve right away. Make Ahead The tomato sauce and bread crumbs can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate the tomato sauce and store the bread crumbs in an airtight container at room temperature. Suggested Pairing Brightly acidic tomatoes go best with lively white wines without oak. Look for Chardonnay aged in stainless steel. Rate it Print