I made a Michelin-starred chef's easy 20-minute pasta dish and it was the perfect quick dinner

The Michelin-starred establishment has made a name for itself in a city teeming with Italian cuisine. Eater critic Ryan Sutton once called it "a quintessential New York restaurant you just can't find elsewhere."

Carbone was my last restaurant meal before NYC went into lockdown in March 2020. And in those first few months of the pandemic, I found myself constantly dreaming of its melt-in-your-mouth meatballs, the signature "grandma bread" slicked with tomato sauce, and the spicy rigatoni vodka — which instantly became one of my favorite pasta dishes.

Lockdown came and went in Manhattan, but I had moved to LA before getting a chance to return to Carbone. So I decided to do what any good food writer would, and reach out to the primary source.

While Mario Carbone wouldn't divulge the secrets to his spicy rigatoni (and who can blame him?), the Michelin-starred chef gave me a 20-minute pasta dish to help bring one of my favorite Italian restaurants right to my kitchen.

And lucky for you, reader, I'm in a giving mood.

"What I love about it most is that it's bright, acidic, and clean," he said. "There's no murkiness whatsoever, mainly because the tomato sauce and shrimp don't spend a lot of time together in the pan."

The Carbone Fine Food team recently developed the recipe to pair with one of its new sauces, which the Michelin-starred restaurant is selling online and in stores for $9 a jar. In addition to the arrabbiata — which is used in Carbone's penne with spicy shrimp — you can also try the marinara, tomato basil, and roasted garlic sauces as well.

With pastas starting at $28, a night at Carbone doesn't come cheap. So I was excited to see if cooking Chef Mario's recipe with one of the restaurant's sauces could help capture some of its magic — and for far less cash.

To make the dish at home, you'll need:

• Shrimp
• Penne pasta
• Carbone's arrabbiata sauce
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Chili flakes

If you don't have the sauce on hand, Carbone said you can always whip up your own. His sauce is made with Italian tomatoes (whole peeled tomatoes, tomato purée, sea salt, basil), along with onions, olive oil, sea salt, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, and oregano.

Since I was whipping up pasta for three people, I chopped up nine sprigs of parsley and minced three cloves of garlic.

I cracked off their tails to make the process easier — and quicker.

I sliced down the back of each shrimp with a knife, making sure not to cut them in half. Then I used the tip of my blade to remove the dark vein running down the middle.

To make three servings, I used two-thirds of a 16-ounce box of penne pasta.

Carbone notes that it's important not to brown the garlic. Simply wait until the oil is infused and aromatic.

I seasoned the shrimp with a pinch of salt and plenty of chili flakes — I like a kick.

"There's no need to be too delicate with the shrimp," Carbone told me. "You want to cook it somewhat aggressively, almost toasting it."

"This recipe calls for penne, but so many shapes would work well with the sauce — try it with angel hair, for instance," Carbone said. "No matter what, though, make sure it's al dente."

Carbone's pro tip? Cook the pasta for one to two minutes less than what the package says to make sure you get it perfect.

I slid the pan to a different burner, then drained my pasta.

Dinner was almost ready!

It gave a beautiful burst of color to the pan. I couldn't wait to dig in.

I thought just penne and shrimp might be a little too plain, but Carbone's recipe packs plenty of flavor — and heat.

The arrabbiata sauce and chili flakes give everything a nice kick, but it's not overwhelming. Even my dad, who isn't huge on spicy food, said it was the perfect amount of heat.

And both my mom and I agreed that it was a great light pasta dish for a hot summer night.

"It reminds me of eating spaghetti and fish by the beach in Greece," she told me.

But I do believe that everything is better with cheese, especially feta. I added some on top — along with some freshly ground black pepper — and loved the extra bite it gave to the penne.

While I'll have to hold out until my next NYC trip for Carbone's spicy rigatoni, his delicious penne and shrimp is a cheap and easy dish to get you through the last few weeks of summer. Bon appetit!