Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

After the disaster I had the other day, I decided to play it safe and cook something I know and love...

...PASTA!

When I first started eating GF, I was really bummed and thought that I would never be able to eat pasta again. 

SAD!!!!

Now that many more people eat GF, be it for allergies, intolerance, or a diet fad, GF products are becoming more and more accessible and more and more tasty.  Trader Joes carries some yummy brown rice pasta that tastes so much like real pasta, you don't even notice that it's not the real thing! 

I still wasn't feeling incredibly inspired, so I went to one of my favorite cooking blogs, For the Love of Cooking, for inspiration.  The author Pam always has amazing recipes that are light, fresh, and flavorful.  I looked through all her pasta recipes and found this yummy sounding recipe for Penne with Shrimp and Roasted Vegetables in a Roasted Garlic Lemon Sauce. I was inspired to recreate this using only the ingredients I have in my house! 

Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

(It tastes much better than it looks)

1 bunch asparagus - ends removed, cut into 2" pieces
3 small bell peppers - seeded, cut into bite sized pieces(red, yellow and orange are pretty)
1lb pasta
1 tin anchovies in olive oil
1 pound shrimp - thawed, peeled, deveined, tails removed
2 tbl fresh pesto
1 bunch green onions - chopped
1 can Artichoke hearts - drained and quartered
1 can black olives - drained
1 pint Cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 400*.  Place asparagus on a baking sheet covered in foil (or use a stoneware large bar pan) and bake for about 15 minutes until veggies are soft.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain pasta, rinse if desired, and set aside.

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.  I always use my giant enameled cast iron skillet from Costco (Thanks, Mom!!!!).  Add entire tin of anchovies, including olive oil (be careful, it may splatter).  Allow the oil to heat and the anchovies to melt, about 2 minutes.  Add shrimp and pesto.  Stir constantly until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes.  Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.To the skillet, add green onions and cook briefly, about 30 seconds.  Then add artichoke hearts, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and roasted asparagus and bell peppers, and heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add pasta and shrimp and toss (use tongs, it makes it way easier than the pasta spoon scoop thingy).  Squeeze two lemons over the top.  Add a little bit of the reserved pasta water if needed.  Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!!!



Shared on: Food on Friday