This Italian-style recipe is easily thrown together, requiring only dry pasta, shrimp and store-bought pesto.
Traditional pesto usually is made of sweet basil leaves, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. You could make it yourself, but store varieties are delicious and oh-so-easy to keep on hand. Some don’t even need refrigeration — find them in the spaghetti sauce aisle of your grocery store. You may even be able to find varieties made with other greens, such as bitter arugula or even carrot tops.
Cook the pasta shape of your choice in salted, boiling water. I find the texture is good if cooked two minutes less than directed, as the pasta continues to cook even when removed from the hot water. Drain, but do not rinse.
Add the pesto and serve warm, at room temperature or cold.
Top the dish with shrimp sauteed in olive oil for just a few minutes. On your meatless nights, toast pine nuts in the oven or in a saucepan until fragrant and use in place of shrimp, adding an interesting crunch.
Roughly grated Parmesan can be another delicious garnish.
Use your leftover pesto to spice up your favorite sandwiches.
Pesto Pasta With Shrimp
- 8 ounces short pasta, such as orecchiette, penne, rotini or fusilli
- 1/2 cup pesto, defrosted if frozen
- 6 shrimp (13-to-15-per-pound size), defrosted if frozen, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves or grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
In a large pot, cook pasta in salted water as directed, removing 2 minutes early. Place noodles in serving bowl, add pesto and mix thoroughly.
In a saucepan over medium heat, saute shrimp in olive oil until cooked and pink, about 2 minutes on each side. Arrange shrimp over pasta. Garnish with fresh basil leaves or grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish. This recipe is easily doubled.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including grated Parmesan): 910 calories, 39 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 180 mg cholesterol, 1,500 mg sodium, 101 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 40 g protein.
VARIATION: Instead of shrimp, toast or bake 3 tablespoons pine nuts until fragrant and sprinkle over pasta.
“Easy Kine” features simple dishes that start with commercially prepared ingredients. Lynette Lo Tom is excited to hear your tried-and-true suggestions. Contact her at 275-3004, email lynette@brightlightcookery.com or via instagram at brightlightcookery.
