It was exciting to get to prepare Spectacular Shrimp Pasta on Talk of the Town yesterday! (Click to View) Meryll is so much fun to cook with, it’s like being at home in your own kitchen. The problem was that all of that shrimp cooking in the studio smelled so wonderful, that we were craving shrimp by dinnertime. I could see nothing wrong with experimenting with another one pot shrimp pasta with a new twist. So fancy this idea - Coconut Curry Shrimp Pasta…. all in one pot…. all in thirty minutes! If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, this woman is really obsessed with shrimp and I don’t love it that much, then substitute something that you do love – chicken – salmon – pork, even tofu. Any of those would be marvelous. The idea of a one-pot meal is very appealing this time of year when you don’t want to heat up your entire house by firing up the oven and several burners on the stove. It is also nice because there is one pot to clean, hopefully by someone other than the cook.
Happily, this is another recipe where many of the ingredients are likely to present and accounted for without a big grocery run. Shrimp in the freezer- check. Garlic and lemon are always around. Canned coconut milk became a staple for cooking years ago – and more recently a must when my son discovered the joy of a summertime pina coloda. Pasta, just whatever is in your cupboard, and a green veggie if you choose, to round out the ingredients. I was actually planning on spinach or asparagus, but I had broccoli on hand and so there you go. Almost forgot the curry - I used curry paste from the fridge, but curry powder would do in a pinch. That’s the point of the one pot pasta dinner; make it work for you!
The idea is the same as in the Weekend Shrimp Pasta. Cook the pasta and drain it. For this recipe, I threw the broccoli in the pasta water for the last few minutes of boiling to cook it as well. Sauté the shrimp in the same pot and remove it to a plate. Make the sauce in the same pot then mix in the shrimp, broccoli and pasta.
My son is crazy about all the toppings for curry that we have adopted in the South so I gave him some options, which are – well – optional. They included basil, mint and cilantro because they are all in the garden right now, and dry roasted peanuts.
I promise you this dish is another crowd pleaser and also promise blogs quite soon that don’t involve shrimp and pasta. The thing is, this recipe was too good to not pass along. Enjoy the dish and enjoy the compliments!
Ingredients
8 oz pasta, fettuccini or pasta of choice
2 cups chopped broccoli, or asparagus (any green vegetable you choose)
6 to 8 oz peeled, deveined shrimp
1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon (Or a squirt of lemon juice)
½ cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp green curry paste (you can use curry powder if you don’t have paste)
½ tsp salt
Red pepper flakes to taste
Optional garnishes: basil, mint, cilantro, and peanuts
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Add broccoli to cooking water with pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking.
Drain pasta and broccoli, and wipe cooking pot dry.
Return pot to heat, melt butter.
Sauté shrimp and garlic about 3 minutes until shrimp is firm and pink.
Add lemon zest.
Remove shrimp mixture to a plate.
In the same pot, add coconut milk, stock, curry paste, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Bring to a boil and return, pasta, broccoli, and shrimp to the pot.
Cook a minute to heat through.
Serve with garnishes if desired.
