Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Rich and zesty pasta that you’ll find simple to make and even easier to devour. My kids love this Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta! This recipe was slightly altered from Gennaro Contaldo. He’s one of my favorite “youtuber’s” and is the cutest man. Thanks for the inspiration Gennaro!
- Prep Time10 min
- Cook Time10 min
- Total Time20 min
- Serves4-6
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 2 C Mini Shrimp - (should already be deveined and tailed)
- 1 Garlic Bulb
- 3 TBS Butter
- 3 TBS Olive Oil
- Pinch of Salt
Pasta
- 16 oz Linguini Pasta -or enough for 4 people
- 1 Jalapeno - Optional
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 3 TBS Olive Oil
- 3 TBS Butter
- Zest and juice of 1-2 Lemons
- 1/2 C Fresh Parsley
- 1.5 C Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (divided)
- Reserved Pasta Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
If your shrimp is frozen, add it to a bowl of warm water and set aside. It does not have to completely thaw, just remove the ice.
Heat up water in a pot to boil, enough to cover your noodles. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, prepare all of your ingredients. Take the bulb of garlic and garlic cloves and mince completely (keep separated). Deseed then dice your jalapeno. Zest your lemons then juice them, chop your parsley, then grate and measure your parmesan cheese.
Next, add your noodles to the boiling water and cook as directed on the package. While your noodles are cooking, take a small pan and turn on to medium heat. Add all of the shrimp ingredients and cook until garlic is slightly browned and all your shrimp is cooked through. Cover with a lid and set aside.
3 minutes before your noodles are finished, take a large pan, turn it to medium high heat. Add the jalapeno, remaining minced garlic and 3 TBS of olive oil . Cook for 2 minutes.
Next, using tongs, add your cooked noodles to the pan. Save your pasta water. Add in 1/2 cup of pasta water, butter, lemon zest and 1/2 of the lemon juice, parsley and 1 cup parmesan and stir.
Continue adding pasta water until the noodles are loose and smooth. This creates a creamy sauce and relaxes the noodles. Be careful not to add too much. Add salt and pepper to taste. If your dish needs more brightening, add the rest of the lemon juice to taste.
Place noodles in a bowl and top with the remaining parmesan cheese and the shrimp. Serve immediately.
This is such a comfort food dish that warms from within. Definitely a family favorite.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
“Dey’s uh, shrimp kabobs, chrimp creole, chrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There’s pinapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That-that’s about it.”
You forgot shrimp noodles Bubbah! This Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is seriously so amazing and so simple. The ingredients are basically all thrown in together to create pasta harmony. I love every aspect of this meal. You have the tart lemon to lighten the noodles, the creamy parmesan and the meaty garlicky shrimp.
Jalapeños?!
Did I mention my favorite part of this meal?…THE JALAPENOS! Yes, strange I know, but if done right, the jalapenos add just a touch of warmth to the dish. NOT SPICEY, but warming…glad we cleared that up.
Did you know that you can actually adjust the heat level of peppers, WHAT?! I know, mind blowing. For full hotness, use all of the parts of the pepper – seeds, the white part that holds the seeds, and the actual pepper itself. But, for just a bit of warmth, discard the seeds and keep the white part. This white part has a beautiful warming sensation. It’s almost like the opposite of mint. When you drink something minty it creates a cooling sensation in your lungs. This is like that, but the opposite. It creates this warming feeling in your, shall we say, bosom…Aca-awkward. But true! If you don’t want any heat or bosom warming, then discard the seeds and the white part so you’ll just be left with the flavor.
Y'all Ready fo' dish...ok I can be shunned from society now for that terrible joke
If I can give you one tip about this dish it would be this: Before you do ANYTHING, prep all of your ingredients. That means chop, dice, mince, zest and juice everything before you get to cookin’. The reason for this is because once the noodles are done cooking, then the actual process of making this meal goes VERY fast. Trust me, you’ll be happy you were so prepared.
So, grab that jalapeno, prepare it to desired hotness and mince. Then take your bulb and extra few garlic cloves and mince away. Please try and use fresh garlic for this, it really makes a difference in the flavor. If you absolutely refuse and you want to use pre-minced garlic in a can, go for it. I just can’t vouch
for the flavor you’ll get. After you prepare your garlic and jalapeno, then take your parsley and give that a good dice. Again, please use fresh parsley as it will make a huge difference in the lightness and taste of this dish. Next, grab your lemon and zest away, zest away, zest away all! (If you’re wondering why that sounds familiar but off it’s because it’s Christmas time and I’ve been reading “The Night Before Christmas” to the kiddos).
The great thing about mini shrimp is that it thaws quickly, especially if thrown in some hot water. I love using the small shrimp for this dish. It just gives a wonderfully balanced bite with the noodles. However, feel free to use any size of shrimp.
Once your shrimp is thawed, add the shrimp, butter, olive oil and garlic into a small saucepan. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and turn the stove on to medium heat. If your shrimp was like mine and was already cooked, then all you are doing is infusing flavors and warming up. You want to be careful during this process because if you cook the shrimp too long then it can become rubbery.
Once you see signs of browning from the garlic, cover it with a lid and set it aside. You can even cook the shrimp last if you’re worried about them getting rubbery. It only takes about 5 minutes.
Time for the pasta
Once you’re done with the shrimp, it’s time to cook the noodles.
For the love! Save your pasta water and here’s why: when you cook your noodles starch comes off the pasta and is now in the boiling water. You can then use that starchy water to create velvety sauces. It’s an old trick that many Italian families use, or so I read. It is super imperative to use pasta water here as it helps loosen the noodles and create a creamy sauce with the cheese, lemon, parsley, garlic, butter and olive oil. Without it, you’re left with a dry pasta that’s stuck together and “tense”.
Cook your pasta according to package instructions. We love Buitoni fresh pasta. No, I’m not paid to tell you this, it’s really just my preferred choice. It’s fresh, has normal ingredients, and you can freeze it if you don’t use it right away. It also only takes 2 minutes to cook, WHAT!?
When your noodles only have a few minutes left to cook, put your jalapeno and garlic in a large pan with your olive oil. On medium high heat cook for 2 minutes. Then, with tongs or a strainer, transport your noodles to the hot pan, cooking it and stirring it together with the garlic and jalapeno. Add in some pasta water. Start with 1/2 cup and feel free to add more later. Next, add in your butter and let it melt.
Add your lemon juice, parsley, lemon zest and parmesan. Give it all a good stir, adding pasta water as needed. Feel free to use as much or as little pasta water to give you the consistency you like. Continue stirring until the cheese is melted. Give it a taste and add as much salt and pepper as it needs to make the flavors pop.
Dinner time!
The best part about this meal is that it have maximum flavor with quick effort. I mean seriously, how long did that take? For you beginners to the recipe maybe 30 minutes just becuase you’re getting used to the recipe. But for me who has cooked this recipe quit often, it is such a quick dinner. Seriously fast! Especially when my noodles only have 2 minutes to cook. Sweet!
