Skillet Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Pine Nuts Recipe
[Photographs: Yasmin Fahr]
Pesto is one of those bold, flavor-packed additions that can easily overpower more delicate ingredients, but it's also delicious for that very same reason. Maybe it's the brightness of the basil or some childhood association that I can't recall, but it always reminds me of spring and summer. I love swirling it into steamy noodles and topping it with toasted pine nuts for extra crunch and nuttiness for a quick and easy meal.
To save time, I bought basil pesto but you can easily make your own. I added tomatoes and shrimp to complete this dish but you could easily skip them and try using chicken or a vegetarian version. Save some of the pasta cooking water just in case you want to loosen up the sauce if it seems dry. I only ended up using about a 1/4 of a cup of the water, but I would experiment with adding a little at a time and tossing it together until it reaches a consistency that you're happy with.
Overall, this is an easy weeknight meal that can be thrown together quickly with just a few ingredients. It also makes for great leftovers.
- Yield:Serves 4
- Active time: 10 minutes
- Total time:25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 pound linguini, broken in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 1/2 pounds medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3/4 cup bails pesto, preferably homemade
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Directions
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1.
Place pinenuts in a 12-inch skillet and heat over high heat, tossing and stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
-
2.
Heat the water in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until boiling and heavily salt it until it tastes like the sea. Add the linguine and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a bowl. Toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
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3.
Wipe out the skillet, and heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Push the tomatoes to the side and add the shrimp, seasoning those with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook until pink and opaque, about 4 minutes total, flipping once half way through cooking.
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4.
Add the pasta back to the pan, stir in the pesto and pine nuts until combined. Add reserved pasta water as necessary, adding a little at a time until it reacjes desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to warm serving bowls, top with basil, and serve.