The Barefoot Cook

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I can’t call myself the Barefoot Contessa because I’m nowhere near the cook that Ina Garten is.  I do like to cook barefoot however.  Is that gross?  I mean, it’s not like I’m cooking with my feet or anything.  But I digress.  A few weeks ago, one of my sweet friends at work told me all about a dish of Barefoot Contessa’s that she said was amazing.  She said it was simple and easy and her boys LOVED it.  That’s all I needed to hear!  Well…all I needed to hear was that it was simple and easy because my boys aren’t exactly my biggest cheerleaders when it comes to my cooking :)

LEMON PASTA WITH ROASTED SHRIMP

recipe via The Barefoot Contessa

2 lbs. {17-21 large} shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 tbsp. Olive oil {I used Bertolli}

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt 

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. angel hair pasta

4 tbsp. {1/2 stick} unsalted butter, melted

2 lemons, zested & juiced

 

I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for new pasta dishes and I LOVE the fresh flavor of this one!  Here’s what we’ll need to start…

I know the ingredients said to toss in about 17-21 large shrimp, but these were on sale and I like A LOT of shrimp!!!!  Honestly, I don’t really think the quantity makes a difference.  Just add as many…or few…as you prefer!

First things first.  Boil your pasta.  That always takes a while for me, so I like to start that first.  And I always toss in a little bit of salt to speed up the boiling process!!!  And with this dish, I also drizzled in some olive oil to the boiling water, per Barefoot Contessa’s recommendation.  Anyway….while the water’s boiling, let’s go ahead and zest & juice the lemons and melt the butter.

And just incase you can’t tell, from left to right we have the lemon juice, zested lemon peel, and the melted butter.

Let’s go ahead & start roasting the shrimp, shall we?!  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Every good roasting starts with a copious amount of olive oil and kosher salt, right?!?!  OH how I LOVE roasted anything!!!!  But shrimp?!?!  I’ve NEVER roasted shrimp before!!!  I was missing out, for sure!!!

Put your shrimp in a large bowl and toss in the olive oil.

Now sprinkle on the kosher salt….

And follow it up with some pepper.

Mix until the shrimp are evenly coated and transfer to a baking pan making sure they’re spread out in one even layer.  Cook for about 6-8 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 

At this point, your pasta should be all ready.  Go ahead & drain the pasta, but make sure you reserve some of the liquid…about 1/2 a cup.  Return the pasta back to the pot and toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid  from the pasta. 

Mix well until the pasta is evenly coated.  Then toss in the shrimp.

I definitely could’ve used MORE shrimp!!!!  And maybe some more lemon, too :)

I LOVED the freshness of this dish!!!!  The lemon was clutch.  I think I could’ve used even more and been totally happy!!  The best part was biting into little clumps of the shrimp, pasta, AND lemon zest…SO good!!!!  If you’re a fan of pasta, lemon, and shrimp, try this immediately!!!  And make sure you’re barefoot while cooking…I swear it adds a little something special ;)