Lemon Pesto Pasta with Shrimp is a quick, easy weeknight dinner seafood recipe, perfect for two people. A stove top pasta dish done in less than 30 minutes and loaded with fresh vegetables and pesto.
½poundfresh asparagustrimmed and cut into 2-3 pieces
3-4tablespoonsolive oildivided
3ozfresh spinach
¾cuppesto
Juice from ½ lemon
Parmigiano-reggiano to garnish
Instructions
Defrost raw frozen shrimp in a bowl of cold water. If necessary, de-vein and peel shrimp then pat dry, set aside.
In a medium to large pot begin boiling salted pasta water. Also, preheat a dutch oven over medium heat.
While waiting for the water to begin boiling, trim the ends of asparagus and cut each spear into 2-3 pieces.
Once the water begins boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package inspections. Stir immediately to prevent sticking and then stir occasionally while cooking.
After you start the pasta, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the preheated dutch oven and saute the asparagus. Season with salt to taste and cook for about 2 minutes until bright green but still not soft.
Remove asparagus and set aside.
In the dutch oven, add the rest of the olive oil and add the shrimp and season with salt. Reduce heat to medium low and cook shrimp until pink on both sides (2-4 minutes total).
Once the shrimp is cooked, add in the cooked asparagus and raw spinach. Toss together until spinach is wilted and turn off the heat.
Next add pesto and juice from ½ of a lemon. Stir to combine.
Save ½ cup of pasta water and then drain pasta using a spider or colander. Add hot pasta directly to the dutch oven and stir well to combine. If necessary, add 2 tablespoons of pasta water to loosen the sauce. Season with salt to taste.
Portion out pasta and then garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano if desired.
Notes
Use de-veined, peeled, defrosted raw large shrimp for this recipe. Cooked shrimp can be added with the pasta to be warmed up.
Be sure to save some pasta water to make the sauce cling to the pasta.
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container with a splash of pasta water or extra pesto for up to 3 days.