Summer Pasta-Shrimp, Lemon, Garlic! 🍋🍤
What’s not to love in that combination? Make it creamy with the addition of a little ricotta and it’s off-the-charts! Plus, this is another one of those recipes where you can do it super fast and easy, or add a few extra steps for an amazing homemade dinner to knock the socks off anyone, including yourself! I made the pasta from scratch and I also made the ricotta. I think both are pretty easy once you get the knack. If you prefer, make the version with dried pasta and store bought ricotta and it’s still 100% delicious and comes together in just a few minutes. Either way, you get the most amazing results. Here’s how I made it!
Homemade Pasta
I love making pasta from scratch. If you don’t have the inclination, just buy your favorite brand of dried pasta. No guilt here. But, if you have been curious about making it yourself, here’s my recipe.
In a large stainless bowl, I add 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt and give it a good whisk to mix. Then I make a well in the bottom of the bowl and crack 3 eggs right into the center. Then I add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Start to mix the eggs and oil with a fork. Slowly bring a bit of flour into the mix, continuing to mix with your fork. When you can’t easily add anymore flour, take the ball of dough out of the bowl and put it onto a lightly floured work surface. Need the dough until it’s no longer sticky and cannot take on any more flour. If yours is dry and cracking, add a 1/2 teaspoon of water and kneed a bit more. Wrap in plastic and let it sit for 30 minutes or more.
Roll the dough out using a hand rolling machine or the attachment to your mixer. For more information on how I roll out the dough, see https://wp.me/p9KEfL-hF. If you want to make your own ricotta cheese, you can find the recipe here. https://wp.me/p9KEfL-9P I can’t say enough how truly easy and delicious homemade ricotta is. It improves any recipe you make with ricotta. But, again, no guilt here. But, try it sometime!
Get Saucy
Ok, So first things first. Pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay. It goes really well with this recipe. Another reason is that you will need a splash for the sauce. This will ensure that you do not drink all the wine. And when I say this is easy, seriously, no joke. The only challenge here is that it happens so fast.
The best bet is to have everything ready to go. Start a large pot filled 2/3 with water and 3 tablespoons salt, for the pasta. Chop your parsley, 1/2 cup plus extra for garnish. Mince the garlic, zest 2 lemons and then squeeze both, removing any seeds. Grate the parmesan cheese. 1 cup for the sauce plus a bit more for garnish. Rinse the shrimp and clean according to the type you purchased. I used frozen 45 count per pound. They were already peeled and deveined. If yours are not, be sure to clean them. Remove the shell then, using a small knife, split the back down the entire side from base to tail, just a bit under the flesh and remove the vein. Remove the tail, pulling carefully to keep the shrimp under in tact. Rinse again and set aside.
How to Put It Together – It’s Fast!
At this time, add the pasta to the boiling water! Fresh will take about 4 minutes to cook. Based on the type you’re using, some dried could take up to 11 minutes.
In a large pan, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Heat on medium high and once hot, add the garlic. After 1 minutes, add the shrimp. Cook about 4 minutes, just until pink. Add the lemon juice and zest about 1/2 cup of white wine (Chardonnay is perfect) and a pinch of salt. Add 1/2 cup of chopped parsley and 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme or lemon thyme.
Drain the pasta from the pot and reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water for use in the sauce.
Back to the sauce – add 1 cup ricotta cheese and 1 cup of the grated parmesan, mix well. Then, add the pasta to the pan and using tongs, turn to coat and mix well. If the sauce needs more moisture, add some of the pasta water.
Top with more parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Wha-lah!
Pasta With Shrimp In A Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried or 1 recipe fresh pasta
- 1 lb shrimp, cleaned, tail removed
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme or lemon thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine (like Chardonnay)
- 2 lemons zest and juice
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Make fresh pasta and let aside. If using dried, follow instructions for cooking.
- Put a pot for pasta on high heat with 3 tablespoons salt.
- In a large pan, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Heat on medium high and once hot, add the garlic. After 1 minute, add the shrimp. Cook about 4 minutes, just until pink. Add the lemon juice and zest, 1/2 cup of white wine and a pinch of salt. Add 1/2 cup of chopped parsley and the thyme.
- As soon as done, drain the pasta from the pot and reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water for use in the sauce.
- Back to the sauce - add 1 cup ricotta cheese and 1 cup of the grated parmesan, mix well. Then, add the pasta to the pan and using tongs, turn to coat and mix well. If the sauce needs more thickening, add some of the pasta water as needed.
- Top with more parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
