SUMMERY SHRIMP WITH PESTO

Summery Shrimp with Pesto image

This is "preppy" because it's pink and green. It's a summer recipe because home gardeners end up with too much basil and too many zucchini in July and August. I like to serve the pesto on the side because it is very potent and this way each person can control the potency.

Provided by anniegolden

Categories Main Dish Recipes Pasta Pesto Pasta Recipes

Time 35m

Yield 3

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

½ (12 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
2 tablespoons water, divided, or as needed
2 tablespoons butter
¾ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 scallions, thinly sliced, green and white parts separated
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, sliced 1/2-inch thick, or more to taste

Steps:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Add basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper to a blender. Pulse and stir down. Drizzle in tiny amounts of water and continue to pulse and stir down, then blend to desired consistency.
Melt butter in the empty pasta pot. Saute shrimp over medium heat until bright pink and opaque, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Set aside.
Add white and light green parts of scallions to the pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute more. Add sliced zucchini and saute over medium-high heat, stirring and turning occasionally, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so zucchini starts to caramelize, but don't cook to mush.
Quickly stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for 30 seconds to reduce the liquid, then remove from heat. Stir in shrimp.
Spoon shrimp and zucchini over the pasta. Garnish with green onion tops. Serve with pesto on the side.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 423.6 calories, Carbohydrate 37.2 g, Cholesterol 192.6 mg, Fat 19.4 g, Fiber 3.9 g, Protein 26.6 g, SaturatedFat 6.4 g, Sodium 574 mg, Sugar 3.2 g