Easy dinners are always a good thing. Easy tasty dinners are an even better thing. I’m always on the hunt for a new recipe that is quick and simple but is not your regular everyday meal.
I came across this recipe on the Foodnetwork site from Giada DeLaurentiis (love her!). It doesn’t require much and the lemon oil in the dish gives it an interesting flavour which works well with the shrimp and the spinach.
As usual, there are always modifications to any recipe so for this one I substituted the arugula for spinach.
Using fresh pasta makes all the difference in these dishes. If you don’t have the time to make your own pasta, then it’s as easy as heading over to your local pasta shop and picking some up.
Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis’ recipe
For Lemon Oil:
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested
For Pasta:
1 pound fettucini or linguine pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces of frozen shrimp, uncooked
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3 ounces of arugula or spinach
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
For the lemon oil, combine the 1/2 cup of olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasts. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally for about 8-10 minutes. Drain the pasta.
While pasta cooks, in a large skillet warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Turn off the heat and add the arugula or spinach. Using a mesh sieve, strain the lemon zest out of the reserved lemon olive oil and add the oil to the pasta. The zest can be thrown away. Add the chopped parsley to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
