Shelled shrimp add big flavor to this simple tomato sauce

The shrimp are cooked directly in the sauce until they turn pink. Milk Street

In Venetian scampi alla busara, large, sweet, shell-on prawns are bathed in a sauce made with fresh tomatoes and flavored with a splash of white wine, smashed garlic cloves and a sprinkling of pepper flakes.

Pairing scampi alla busara with al dente pasta is a delicious, though not strictly traditional, combination.

In this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we use shelled shrimp in place of prawns for convenience; the tails are used to give the dish a rich, savory note.

We start by cooking the pasta until just shy of al dente, then set it aside, along with a cup of the starchy cooking water. The pasta finishes cooking directly in the sauce; the reserved cooking water helps the sauce cling to the pasta.

To build flavor in the simple tomato sauce, we remove the tails from the shrimp and sauté them in olive oil with garlic until the garlic begins to brown. White wine is added to the pan and reduced, creating a garlicky sauce base.

The tails and garlic are removed from the reduction and ripe plum tomatoes are added, along with fresh basil, sugar and red pepper flakes.

The sauce is simmered until the tomatoes are softened and jammy and the juices have fully evaporated. The shrimp are cooked directly in the sauce until they turn pink, then finish with the pasta and a bit of pasta water.

Off-heat, the pasta is finished with additional fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil for richness.