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Gulf Shrimp Pasta with Lemon-Basil Pesto


I just can't do an all zoodle or vegetable 'noodle' dish. I've tried spiralizing every vegetable know to man but it just seems to always miss the mark. Not because it doesn't taste good but because i'll never not be longing for the real thing. There are just some things, some healthy versions of things that while delicious are just never going to replace the good ole' original. I've learned to lighten instead of replace to keep both the inside and outside ;) of my stomach happy. Instead of cauliflower 'mashed potatoes' I replace half or a little more of the potatoes with cauliflower but keep a few potatoes in there for consistency, flavor and texture. When it comes to pasta - I like to mix a lot of veggie noodles with a little pasta.

This dish is the ultimate summer pasta - blistered and sun-dried tomatoes; plump, fresh gulf shrimp cooked with lots of lemon all tossed with homemade and veggie noodles in an herbaceous pesto. The trick to an extra velvety pesto is mixing in a little pasta water right at the end! Hope you love it...

SERVING SIZE: 4

PREP TIME: 10-15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

PASTA:

1-1.5 lbs Wild Caught Gulf Shrimp (peeled and de-veined)

1 lb Fresh Fettuccine (or dried if you prefer)

3 Large Zucchinis (spiralized)

1.5 pints Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1.5 cups Sun-Dried Tomatoes (chopped)

2 tbsp Grassfed/Vegan Butter or Ghee

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt + Pepper

EVOO

PESTO:

1.5 cups Basil (chopped)

1/2 cup Walnuts (chopped)

3/4 cup Parmesan (grated)

1 clove Garlic (minced)

zest + juice of 1 Lemon

1 tbsn butter

S+P

EVOO (start with 1 cup in a measuring cup with a pour spout, you may not use all of it)

RECIPE:

Once you have all of your ingredients prepped - preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spread the tomato halves on a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle the tomatoes generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes once the oven is preheated.

Put the spiralized zoodles on a plate covered with a paper towel and season liberally with salt to extract most of the water from the zucchini. Let these sit while you cook the pasta and shrimp. Melt the butter in a large saute pan and add the shrimp. Season with Salt and Pepper, cover with a lid and cook until shrimp are pink. Turn off the heat and squeeze the lemon over the shrimp, stir to combine and cover with a lid with the heat turned off until ready to use.

In another saute pan, drizzle a little EVOO in the pan and let heat for about a minute. Add the zoodles and stir frequently for 3-4 minutes or until softened and cooked to your preference.

Remove the pasta once cooked and strain, saving the cooking liquid.

Finally, make the pesto. In a blender add the walnuts, parmesan, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse to chop the ingredients and then switch to blend and slowly drizzle the EVOO in through the cap while the lid is on. Slowly add the oil until you have a consistency a little thinner than a paste. Stop the blender, add 1 tbsp butter and 1 ladle of pasta water- cover with lid and blend until combined. The texture should be liquid and velvety - a thick saucy consistency.

Combine the sun-dried and blistered tomatoes, zoodles, noodles and shrimp with the pesto until everything is coated. Voila! Happy Eating!


Kristen's Cooking Tips

#1 

Use sharp knives! Slicing, chopping, mincing- sharp knives cut prep time in half and are WAY safer than fighting with dull blades that barely get through the skin of a tomato. At the very least, get a knife sharpener and run the blade across it before any prep. 

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#2

Taste EVERYTHING as you go! Cooking is about using instinct and creating flavors- you'll never learn to cook if you don't develop instincts... taste the food at every stage and follow the flavor development, adding more salt, more acid, more cream- whatever your taste buds are reaching for. 

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#3

Mis en Place: it's french for everything in it's place. Before you start a dish, gather all of your ingredients and prep everything you need in advance. Minced garlic? mince it first and set aside. Chopped herbs? Chop away and be ready when you need them. So many people I talk to say cooking is stressful, there is "too much going on"- it's all about time management. Cooking should be relaxing and fun! Think about your favorite cooking show... notice how they always have everything they need right there? Read the whole recipe through and zoom out- while this is cooking, make this; while this is chilling, cook this. Know how to breakdown the steps and prepare your ingredients so you're not stuck with burning garlic while you're chopping cilantro. Go in with a clear mind and know you're about to fuel your body and nourish your soul with your own two hands...and a few sharp knives ;)

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