Lemon Garlic Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp

This was the first meal my husband and I made together when we got back from our honeymoon. It was inspired by one of the dinners we had on our trip and was great for a fairly quick weeknight meal.

This recipe makes 4 servings, but with the ingredients purchased, you could double the recipe and make 8 servings. It tastes best fresh, but it is still great as leftovers and could also be frozen and revived for a later meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients

-200g dry angel hair pasta, ~715kcal

-16oz Kirkland Signature Wild Argentine Red Shrimp, Raw, Tail-Off (I don't think I'll ever buy a different shrimp, these were so good!), ~320kcal

-1 bag Kirkland Organic, Broccoli Florets (it's 1 small bag within the giant bag), ~115kcal

-5g olive oil, 45kcal

-21g Danish Creamery European Style Butter, Salted, ~165kcal

-Garlic paste, ~30kcal

-Salt

-Pepper

-McCormick, All Purpose Seasoning, Garlic Herb Black Pepper and Sea Salt

-Old Bay Seasoning

-Lemon juice

Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with water (about 2/3 full), add salt, and boil the water on the stove.

2. Measure out your shrimp and place into a collander. Run the shrimp under cold water in the sink until it is thawed out (the bag says not to force thaw, but it's fine).

3. Cook the broccoli in the microwave according to package instructions, and set an airfryer to pre-heat to 400 degrees (you can skip the airfryer if you don't have one).

4. Once the broccoli is finished cooking, create a small tear in the bag and drain the water into the sink (be careful, bag is hot! Use oven mitts!), and empty the bag into a bowl. Alternatively, you could strain out the water in a mesh strainer basket and then add it to a bowl.

5. Gently squeeze the broccoli and dry it out with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

6. Add 5g of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of McCormick garlic, black pepper, and sea salt seasoning.

7. Cook the broccoli in the airfryer for about 10 minutes (I'll be honest, I haven't set a timer yet, so if this is too long, and it turns out crisper than you like--we like it slightly charred, so beware--try 6-8 minutes. When the broccoli is cooked, pull out the airfryer basket and set it aside (if you skip the airfryer, just dry the broccoli and season it, and then set it aside).

8. Hopefully your shrimp is thawed at this point (you'll know when it feels soft, and there are no more icicles). Remove it from the water, dry it off in the collander using a paper towel, and transfer it to a bowl.

9. Season the shrimp with Old Bay, salt, and McCormkick, and make sure all of them are coated evenly with spices. Let it hang out while you cook the pasta.

10. Add the pasta to the boiling water once it's at a rolling boil (big bubbles everywhere), which hopefully it's boiling at this point (we live at high altitude where it takes forever). Cook for about 3 minutes (it's done when it's pretty al dente/tastes underdone--it's pretty easy to overcook, so be careful).

11. Drain the pasta over a large cup to collect some pasta water. Then set the pasta and pasta water to the side.

12. Heat 21g of butter in a pan, spreading the butter around as it melts, and then add a squeeze of garlic paste.

13. Once the butter is melted and it and the garlic start to brown, add your shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Even though the shrimp is pink, it's a bit translucent, and you'll know it's cooked when you can't see through it anymore (it's pretty hard to undercook the shrimp, so if you think it's done, it probably is).

14. Pull the shrimp out of the pan and add it to the broccoli.

15. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pan, along with the pasta. Drizzle lemon juice everywhere (if you have a real lemon, zest is also nice), add another squeeze of garlic paste, and some salt and pepper.

16. Coat the pasta with all the liquids, and add the shrimp and broccoli. Mix everything together, and you are ready to eat or save for later. Nice work!

Nutrition*

Full Recipe

~1390kcal, 107g protein, 152g carb, 32g fat

Per Serving (Makes 4 servings)

~350kcal, 27g protein, 38g carb, 8g fat

*Nutrition was approximated using Cronometer. Double check if precision is important to you!