Light pasta, easy and quick to prepare. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoude/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Everyone has a quick pasta dish in their back pocket for weeknight meals. It’s usually filling and economical, but not particularly impressive or seductive.
This shrimp pasta dish checks all the boxes. The angel hair pasta cooks in under three minutes. The shrimp get tossed in a garlic, onion and white wine sauce. Bada bing bada boom, dinner is ready.
Pour a glass of wine, put on some jazz music and voila, instant date night.
Capellini pasta with shrimp
Serves 2
Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
½ a box of capellini pasta (angel-hair)
1 leek or medium-sized onion, finely chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
400 grams of peeled and cooked shrimp, large size 1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine (something good quality that you will want to drink later)
Zest of one lemon, save the lemon and cut into quarters for serving
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup of good quality Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Fill a large pot with water and add a generous amount of salt. Bring to a boil. While the water is coming up to a boil, take a large pan and heat the butter and olive oil on high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the chopped leek or onion and cook until it starts to brown.
Add the chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and white wine. Cook on medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the shrimp and toss to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or just until the shrimp is warmed through. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon zest and half of the basil. Meanwhile, cook the capellini pasta for a maximum of 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss in some olive oil.
Plate up the pasta in two heaping servings. Top with the shrimp, onion-garlic sauce, a sprinkle of fresh parmesan and as much fresh basil as your heart desires. Serve with a lemon wedge, a side of good crusty bread and a glass of wine as tall as you need it to be. Enjoy!