Giada De Laurentiis Uses This Spicy Italian Condiment the Same Way You Use Sriracha — ‘For a Little Extra Heat, Baby!’

When a dish needs a little extra something-something you may instinctively reach for your red pepper flakes or your Sriracha sauce to add a burst of heat. But for Giada De Laurentiis, it’s all about the Calabrian Chili Paste, a.k.a. her “all-time favorite flavor booster.” It’s made with crushed Calabrian chilis and has a fruity, spicy flavor that delivers heat but doesn’t overwhelm the palette — and it’s a must-have for her Calabrian Chili Shrimp Pasta recipe.

Calabrian Chili Paste, which De Laurentiis sells through Giadzy, is similar to cayenne on the Scoville meter, but its depth of flavor is what sets it apart from other spicy condiments. Mellow, warm, and a bit fruity, these crushed peppers will give you, as De Laurentiis said in a recent Instagram video, “a little extra heat, baby” while adding a subtle zesty warmth to your overall dish.

And this paste is a must-have for De Laurentiis’ Calabrian Chili Shrimp Pasta. This dish will make you feel like you’re “sailing on the Amalfi coast,” according to De Laurentiis, with its lemony, spicy shrimp. De Laurentiis also adds a bit of garlic, olive oil, and salt to her shrimp marinade, and while the shrimp soaks in all that delicious flavor, she cooks her pasta (she uses her own Organic Paccheri Pasta from Giadzy).

She then tosses her shrimp with some simmering onion and sundried tomato. And when everything is cooked through, it’s time to toss the pasta with the shrimp and serve (with freshly-grated Parmesan and basil, of course)!

A post shared by Giada DeLaurentiis (@giadadelaurentiis)

Grab the full recipe for De Laurentiis’ Calabrian Chili Pasta here and pick up a jar of Calabrian Chili Paste while you’re over on the Giadzy website. Sriracha is good and all, but sometimes, Calabrian chilies are that much better!

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