Get dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes with this garlic butter shrimp pasta! This pasta recipe is simple, full of flavour, and makes for a great meal. My approach to the garlic butter is to treat it tenderly, it’s got an important role to play. The garlic butter forms the base of my pasta sauce so it’s gotta get the right treatment. As the butter melts on a low heat together with the garlic slivers they create a wonderful infusion. The garlic gently melds with the butter resulting in a kiss of garlic flavour. The garlic profile is smooth and not as intense which is very important in creating the right balance of flavours for this pasta sauce. Added plus…you won’t be vampire repellant after this one!
Shrimp Preparation
For this recipe I use shrimp that’s deveined and still have their skins/jackets. Easy peel shrimp works like a charm because the skins are very easy to remove but if you cant access them no problem – Just do it your self. It’s very easy to devein shrimp. The process is two fold, it allows you to remove the vein and also slit the shell so it’s easier to remove.
How to de-vein shrimp
Using a sharp knife cut along the back of the shrimp, lengthways. A surface cut will suffice, don’t cut very deep. Remove the vein, which is usually a black/dark coloured string but it can sometimes be a clear colour (colour of the uncooked shrimp meat). And that’s it! Just rinse the shrimp well and drain.
Now you’re probably asking why aren’t I peeling the skins off before cooking?
Elementary my Dear Watson! Elementary! I’ll explain shortly.
Sidenote: I like Sherlock Homes. Solving mysteries would be a great job wouldn’t it?! Such excitement! For me the only thing that could beat a good mystery case is a delicious plate of food!
I like mysteries on the whole. That’s my favourite type of novel…a mystery novel. I do love a good “who done it?” scenario.
Now, getting back to it, I like to leave the shrimp shells on for two reasons.
- More flavour
- The pasta sauce sticks to the shells giving it so much more decadence.
For this recipe I season the shrimp with salt, cracked black pepper and a combination of seville orange (bitter orange) and lime zest which really adds a different level of citrusy aroma and taste. It’s important to remember not to add citrus juice to your uncooked shrimp, just the zest.
Why? You’ll end up with ceviche.
The acid in citrus cooks shrimp (without heat) so you’ll end up overcooking your shrimp if you add it to a hot pot after it’s been sitting in citrus juice.
Creating the Pasta Sauce
Melted Butter- Check. Fresh Garlic- Check. Now as far as our pasta sauce goes, a bit of acidity from citrus juice goes a long way. Adding a splash of citrus juice to the pasta sauce creates dimension and the entire thing emulsifies into deliciousness! Now it’s time to mention an important bit that goes into the creation of your sauce – pasta water.
Importance of Pasta Water in Pasta Sauce
Pasta water does wonders for pan sauces. It thickens and seasons sauce because of it’s two components – starch and salt. It also adds a bit of the pasta flavour to the sauce.
And then it’s extra easy peasy from here on out: in with fresh basil and in with your shrimp. You want to keep an eye on your shrimp as they cook very quickly. As soon as your shrimp turns pink just add the last few ingredients. And there you go, simplicity as it’s finest.
And in less time than it takes Sherlock Holms to solve a mystery, you’ll have delicious, hot and fresh garlic butter shrimp pasta in under 10 mins!
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
Course: Pasta, Seafood2
minutes8
minutesIngredients
1 lb jumbo shrimp (20-25)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic (cut into slivers)
Zest of 1 Seville (bitter) orange and 1 lime
1 tsp cracked blacked pepper + more to taste
1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
1/4 cup lime juice + a squeeze of orange
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
handful of fresh basil + extra for garnish(optional)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Pasta of your choice
1/3 cup pasta water
Directions
- Wash and drain the shrimp. To the shrimp add the citrus zest, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Stir to combine.
- To a cold pot add the butter, oil and garlic. Cook on a low heat for 1 min.
- Increase the heat to medium high, cook for 2 mins then smash the garlic cloves into the oil and butter.
- Add the citrus juice, the fresh basil then the shrimp.
- Add 1/3 cup pasta water*
- As soon as the shrimp turns pink, add the tomatoes and the spinach and turn off the heat.
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Add cooked pasta and give everything a good toss to combine.
- Garish with fresh basil (optional).
Recipe Video
Notes
- You can use all lime juice for this recipe and omit the bitter orange juice if you want. Bitter orange juice has a very strong taste (almost mouth numbing) and may not be to everyone’s liking. If using bitter orange juice, a little goes a long way.
- Pasta water – it’s simply the salted boiling water left over after pasta has been cooked. Because the pasta water contains salt, be sure to taste your sauce (after adding it) before adding any additional salt.
