Pesto Pasta with Spicy Shrimp

If there is one food that I could equate with majority of my meals during this 150+ day quarantine we’ve been in, it would be pasta. I’ve never craved pasta as much as I have the past few months and I am leaning the heck in and enjoying it whenever my body desires it. While I don’t normally eat pasta during the summer months because I equate it with a cozy winter night enjoyed alongside a big goblet of red wine, I wanted to make an equally delicious pasta dish to enjoy during the warmer months. So, I turned to one of my favorite sauces for warm weather pasta enjoyment: pesto.

There is something extremely delicious about the combination of pesto and shrimp. Truly, magical. While this dish was originally meant to be pesto zoodles (another great combination), I realized we do not have any form of spiralizer here. So, I went the route of classic spaghetti and, instead, used the zucchini as an additional filling within the pasta dish. I grabbed some other things I love with this flavor profile, tomatoes and feta, and got to work in our kitchen.

This dish comes together freakishly quickly and easily and absolutely hit the spot. Joe proclaimed one of the best dishes I’ve made in a while, so you know I’m telling the truth!

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Pesto Pasta with Spicy Shrimp

Yield: 2

Author: Cameron Rogers

Prep time: 10 MCook time: 20 MTotal time: 30 M

my favorite summer pasta dish

Ingredients:

• Shrimp – peeled & deveined (8)
• Zucchini (1)
• Grape tomatoes (1 cup)
• Lime (1)
• Feta cheese (1/4 cup)
• Pesto sauce (1/4 cup)
• Pasta of your choice (3 cups)
• Avocado oil (2 teaspoons)
• Salt (3 teaspoons)
• Pepper (2 teaspoon)
• Red pepper flakes (1 teaspoon)
• Cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon)

Instructions:

1. In a pot, bring water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until your preferred texture
2. In a bowl, season the shrimp with 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper
3. On a hot skillet, add 1 teaspoon of avocado oil and cook the shrimp on each side for around 3-5 minutes, or until they have nicely browned and curved into the “C” structure showing they are cooked through
4. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside
5. Slice the zucchini into small pieces
6. Reheat that same skillet, add an additional 1 teaspoon of avocado oil, and sauté the sliced zucchini and whole grape tomatoes, with 1 teaspoon each of salt & pepper, for around 10 minutes
7. Strain the pasta and place back in the pot
8. Mix the pesto sauce and sautéed vegetables into the pasta and place in the bowls
9. Top the pasta with the sautéed shrimp, crumbled feta, the juice of 1 lime, and enjoy!

Allergen Information

1. Soy Free
2. Nut free
3. Dairy free (depending on cheese)
4. Gluten free (depending on pasta choice)

Created using The Recipes Generator