A delicious pasta dish combining bright lemon, seasonal asparagus and early season tomatoes with sweet, tender shrimp.
An accidental recipe?
On my Instagram account, I will often post ‘Dinner Tonight’ – a casual, unscripted look at what I am having for dinner. Just a few days ago, I made this Shrimp Bucatini with whatever I had in my pantry and refrigerator.
Half a bottle of wine, some frozen shrimp, almost-past-prime asparagus and a single lemon, this dish is what I came up with. When my husband and I sat down for dinner, we both said ‘Wow, this is good!’. So, for the sake of sharing this recipe, and selfishly having it to refer back to, I decided to write it down and properly photograph it.
I think it’s a dish you’ll love! It is certainly an easy weeknight meal, without compromising taste!
What you will need to make Shrimp Bucatini:
- Bucatini: I use high-quality, bronze die pasta. I use this Italian pasta brand, but look for any durum wheat, made in Italy pasta in your local grocery store.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Cold pressed, grown in Italy is best (in my humble opinion!)
- White wine: Use a dry white wine, or really any white wine that you have open! That was the case with this recipe, I had a crisp white wine that I didn’t want to see go to waste!
- Peeled, de-veined shrimp
- Lemon: When zesting a lemon, be sure to only use the yellow rind. The white flesh is unpleasant and bitter.
- Cherry tomatoes
- Garlic: You will notice that I toast the garlic in oil, then discard it. I find this the best way to infuse the oil, without the sometimes overpowering flavor of garlic.
Shrimp Bucatini with Tomato and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 c cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 c dry white wine
- 12 peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 bunch asparagus top half only, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- Fresh basil and parlsey for garnish, optional
- 100 g dried bucatini pasta
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to a 10 inch sauce pan over medium heat. Add 2 cloves of garlic, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is browned. Discard of garlic. Add cherry tomatoes to pan with 1 tsp of salt. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes begin to soften and burst. Add white wine and cook until alcohol is evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add bucatini to water and cook according to package instructions for al dente.
- Add shrimp to the pan along with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes until shrimp is pink in color.
- Add asparagus, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir and cover again, until asparagus is tender.
- Add cooked pasta to pan, along with cold butter. Stir until combined and sauce begins to thicken and coat pasta.
- Top with fresh parsley and basil. Serve immediately.
