Shrimp with Herbed Pesto with Spinach and Tomato on Mafalda Pasta

Shrimp with Herbed Pesto with Spinach and Tomato on Mafalda Pasta

First, I must say that this one of my favorite Dump Cook recipes.  My husband wanted to have shrimp for dinner and I wanted to jazz them up a bit with a full body of flavor. I started with one main ingredient, shrimp and build on it.   I looked around and started with shrimp (as requested) and made a fabulous dinner.  I searched around and found three tablespoons of Pesto (basil, pine nuts and oil), small amount of frozen spinach, a handful of cherry tomatoes, just enough parsley and then garlic and parmesan cheese which is always in the house. 

FYI: feeds four – lucky me I have leftovers as we are two!

¾ pound shrimp; cleaned and shelled

3 tablespoons of Basil Pesto                 (homemade as mine or bought)

¼ cup chopped Parsley (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)

½ cup frozen spinach drained well   (1 ½ cup fresh spinach)

2 garlic cloves minced

8-10 cherry tomatoes halved or quartered depending on the size.

1 cup shrimp broth (Take shells of the shrimp add 1 ½ cups water simmer till reduced to 1 cup, strain)

2 cups dry Pasta of choice (I used a fun pasta with rippled edges to catch the sauce.)

Parmesan to garnish

Clean the shrimp and reserve the shells.  In 1 ½ cups of water simmer the shells until the liquid reduces to 1 cup. (Should be about 4-5 minutes). Strain and reserve the broth. 

Start to cook the pasta to very el dente (time changes as to the type of pasta used), as it will continue to cook when we place it in the sauce.  Most will take around 6 minutes – yes don’t worry the pasta will cook more in sauce and all the better!

Place the shrimp, spinach, garlic, pesto, and parsley 

in large frying pan.  

 Saute on high heat until the shrimp just begin to curl - only about 3 minutes.  (if using fresh spinach saute the spinach first until wilted then add the rest of the ingredients) Add the tomatoes and lower heat to medium. Dump the pasta into the pan and heat thru for about 1-2 minutes. The shrimp and pasta will marry flavors and continue to cook. Add broth to thin sauce as needed.

Serve in a big bowl and garnish with cheese and a bit of fresh parsley for color.  

 

TIPS:

·                           I always save seafood shells in a baggy and freeze them, if I don’t have time to make a broth right away which can be cooled and then frozen for later use. The shells then can be used to make a broth at any time later.

·                          I used pasta that had ripples and curves to catch the sauce but you could use any pasta, rice, couscous or other grain.

·                         I like red pepper flakes on top.

·                         I think this could use Kale instead of the Spinach but you would need to saute the kale until tender about 3-5 minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.

·                        This will be good without the spinach and tomatoes and just the pesto, but why not get more goodness in the dish?

      As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!