Pasta with Shrimp in Lemon Cream Sauce

 

 

Another version  from Judith Greenwood in Italy:

 

Pasta al limone con gamberetti

 

We remember this! I am posting it because I think Jessica would like it. It is from the cookbook I wrote for Slow Travel in 2005, and it’s still a winning recipe.

For four people:

• 1/4 kilo (1/2 pound) frozen tiny, shelled shrimp, heated in boiling water and drained well
• 4 tablespoons/c<em>ucchiai butter
• 1/4 liter (1 cup) heavy cream or one tiny box of Panna da Cucina, but only Grifo brand, which has no additives
• 4 tablespoons/cucchiai fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated peel from 4 lemons – no pith, just the yellow part (if the lemons are large, use 2)
• 2 espresso cups (1/2 cup) grated parmigiano-reggiano (no substitutes! use the real thing)
• 500 grams (1 pound) of a small, hard wheat (grano duro) pasta without eggs (select a small, non-tubular pasta shape, such as casarecce or rotini or farfalle)

Make the sauce in a skillet or pot large enough to accommodate the cooked pasta when it is done.

Combine the butter and cream in the pan and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Add the lemon peel and continue stirring/boiling until the sauce is reduced to one half of its original volume if using fresh cream. If using Grifo panna da cucina, you don’t need to reduce it, just cook long enough for the peel to be softened. Taste and add salt to balance the lemon. Every lemon is different and so every dish must be salted to taste. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the warm burner.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. When it is cooked, but still firm to the bite (probably 5-6 minutes for the smaller shapes), drain it and add to the pot with the sauce. Place over medium heat and toss thoroughly for just 15-20 seconds. Add the grated cheese and the shrimps and toss.

Serve immediately with additional grated cheese (I like mine with a bit of fresh ground black pepper, too!).

I like a bitter-greens salad with bits of kiwi with this, with a simple vinaigrette dressing. Without the shrimps it is Pasta al Limone, my favorite pasta.

And I think we will also send it along to Presto Pasta Night.