Shrimp and Asparagus Spaghetti

Shrimp and Asparagus Spaghetti is my easy go to seafood night pasta.  I love the pinkness of the shrimp nestled amongst the green of the asparagus.

Seafood

My love for seafood stems from my Calabrese and Sicilian roots.  When I go to Italy, I live on seafood. Growing up we ate fish on Friday’s of course, and my culinary introduction to the possibilities is deep-rooted in both families.  Shrimp is common amongst my Sicilian family.  Gamberetti are used in a wide variety of salads, mains and appetizers.

Growing up as immigrant we ate fish on Friday and I didn’t like the smell of the fish.  I had Portuguese friends that owned a fish store and I thought that we smelled like the fish store after we cooked the fish.  The truth of it is that it was a fabulous fish store and I would give anything to have that store around the corner again.  We cooked a lot of cod, and I am working on a fried cod sandwich for you.  My favourite cod dish is done with tomato sauce, but we will have to wait for Christmas again.

Today, I love fish and cook all kinds and experiment with fusing flavours from different cultures into my Italian cuisine.  When I lived in Nunavut, my students would often bring me Arctic Char. It was phenomenal; I wish I could have a fresh Arctic Char right now.  Many students would go fishing with their families and I was the lucky recipient many  times of fresh fish.  Of course Arctic Char met with Italian flavours.

For me simple is always best.  Tonight I am using a store-bought pasta.  I have fresh asparagus.

Here I have jumbo shrimp that is peeled.

I love shrimp on  a grill and it may not make it to the table.  LOL  I like to grill lemon and use it on the plate.

Using more and more fresh pasta.  My homemade spaghetti.

 It’s a beautiful mountain of pasta, shrimp and asparagus.

Print

Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta

A quick seafood fix.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Pasta

• https://recipesatmytable.com/homemade-pappardelle-with-pork-tenderloin-ragu/ Use this recipe to make pasta dough

The Shrimp

• 28 jumbo shrimp I allow 7 per person
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 2 tbsp canola oil

The Sauce

• 1 bunch asparagus cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp each of olive oil and butter
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and pepper

Instructions

The Pasta

1. Follow the instructions for the pasta and I made spaghetti this time.  https://recipesatmytable.com/homemade-pappardelle-with-pork-tenderloin-ragu/

The Shrimp

1. Peel the Shrimp.

   Put in a bowl with all the other ingredients and marinade for at least 3 hours in refrigerator.

   Soak the skewers in cold water for about 20 minutes.

   Thread seven shrimp onto each skewer.

   Grill until pink. 

The sauce

1. In a large skillet sauté the onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil.

   Heat should be at medium/low.

   Next add finely chopped garlic with the asparagus to the skillet.

   Cook for a few minutes until the asparagus is tender.  

   Turn heat off and set aside.

   
   

The pasta and plating

1. Boil the pasta in well salted water for a few minutes.  

   Add the pasta to the large skillet and toss.

   You might add some pasta water to the skillet, about a cut.

   Toss and add the 2 tbsp of butter to add shine.

   Put on a large platter and place the skewers of shrimp on top.

   
   

Recipe Notes

We usually don't add cheese to any seafood dish, but you may if you like.

You may also use any store-bought pasta for this dish such as linguine or spaghetti and follow the same method.