RECIPE · SHRIMP · MAIN
Pasta al Limone with Shrimp Mince
This pasta recipe brings summer to your plate — with fresh lemon juice, crunchy shrimp mince and a deliciously creamy sauce. The pasta is finished straight in the pan for maximum flavor. It almost feels like a mini-break in Capri.
Serves 2
Difficulty: Easy
Prep 40 min
Tossed in the Pan
Lemon · Basil · Parmesan
Ingredients:
- 250 g penne rigate (or spaghetti)
- 200 g shrimp meat, finely chopped
- 1 organic lemon — juice and zest of approx. ⅓ of the peel
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 60 g butter
- 50 g Parmesan, freshly grated
- 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
- 25 g salt for the pasta water
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to cook it:
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and season generously with salt (25 g salt to approx. 2.5 L water). Add the pasta and cook for about 3–4 minutes less than al dente. When draining, reserve about 150 ml of the pasta water — this will be needed for the sauce later.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced garlic cloves and fry for 1 minute — they should turn slightly yellow but not brown.
Add the chopped shrimp meat to the pan and fry for about 2–3 minutes until it starts to take on a little color. Then add the butter and let it melt — this adds the necessary creaminess.
Roughly tear a handful of fresh basil leaves — about half of them — and add them to the pan. Give it a quick stir — it already smells divine!
Add the pre-cooked pasta straight into the pan. Drizzle over the juice of the lemon and the zest of about ⅓ of the peel. Then add about 100 ml of the reserved pasta water, and the rest if necessary. Now it's time to toss, toss, toss! The constant stirring and tossing helps the liquid thicken, and the pasta soaks up the flavors. No extra salt is needed — the pasta water provides enough seasoning.
Gradually add the grated Parmesan to the pan and toss well once more. You should now have a wonderfully rich, creamy lemon and butter sauce.
Finally, season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Arrange on plates and garnish with the remaining basil leaves.