Skillet Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Pine Nuts Recipe
[Photographs: Yasmin Fahr]
Note: I recommended saving some of the pasta cooking water just in case you want to loosen up the sauce a little 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 because you can't go back once it's in there. You could continue to cook it a little longer so that it's absorbed but you might lose a little flavor in the process.
- 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
-
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.