Pasta with Pesto and Shrimp

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make pasta with shrimp? First, make the pesto. Wash and dry the basil and pull the leaves off the stems. Peel the garlic; you can slice it into rounds.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the Parmesan into cubes. You can use Parmesan of any moisture level—mine is young.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the pine nuts, basil leaves, cubed Parmesan, and garlic in a blender, then pour in the olive oil.

4. Step 4:

   

   Blend everything until smooth. Adjust the consistency with olive oil—anywhere from a thick paste to a looser sauce that drips off the spoon.

5. Step 5:

   

   Gather the ingredients for the dish. You can use any pasta: long (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine) or medium (farfalle, penne, fusilli, and so on).

6. Step 6:

   

   Thaw the shrimp first and remove the heads and shells. Use any shrimp you like—regular, jumbo, or even larger Argentine red shrimp, peeled or unpeeled. The shrimp should weigh at least 250 g peeled, so if you're buying unpeeled, head-on frozen shrimp, get about 1.5–2 times as much.

7. Step 7:

   

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the spaghetti, and cook until al dente. Drain the spaghetti in a colander, reserving about 50 ml of the pasta cooking water.

8. Step 8:

   

   Peel the garlic cloves.

9. Step 9:

   

   Heat the oil in a skillet, add the garlic cloves, and fry until golden. Then remove the garlic.

10. Step 10:

    

    Add the peeled shrimp and sauté, stirring, for about 2 minutes.

11. Step 11:

    

    Near the end, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and pour in the reserved pasta water.

12. Step 12:

    

    Add the cooked spaghetti and the pesto to the shrimp.

13. Step 13:

    

    Toss everything until evenly coated—all the pasta should be slick with pesto.

14. Step 14:

    

    Divide the finished pasta among plates and serve, garnished with fresh herbs. Enjoy!