Greek Shrimp and Veggie Pasta

Okay, I've got another pasta recipe for y'all. This one does have over 20 ingredients (including two sticks of butter and a pound of bacon) and takes hours to prepare, but it's worth every second of your day and inch of your gut.

April Fool's!

Did I getcha? Because this Greek-inspired angel hair pasta recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare :o) Its the perfect balance between a light and heavy dish, with lots of fresh veggies and light, whole wheat angel hair pasta.

After gorging ourselves over the Easter weekend on ham and lamb and everything in between (including the fabulous Oreo Truffles), I had absolutely no energy to go to the grocery store Sunday afternoon. After a good hour nap, we woke up at 6:30 pm and clearly knew we were winging dinner with whatever we had in the kitchen.

Luckily, we had half a box of whole wheat angel hair pasta laying around. We also had fresh asparagus, red onion, cherry tomatoes, garlic, both feta and Parmesean cheese and a bag of frozen shrimp. And, now, that I wrote down the recipe, I'm shocked I had all these ingredients without having to make a trip to the store. Well, I did use Proseco in place of white wine, but who's gonna know (or care)?

I only have one picture from my iPhone because I honestly didn't think 1) that it would take such a short amount of time to cook and 2) it would be good enough for me to do a blog post on the very next day. I was wrong - try it yourself!

 

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Greek Shrimp and Veggie Pasta
adapted from Zeppoli's and Recipe Girl

• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons of salted butter
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 stalks thin fresh asparagus
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup red onion slices
• ½ pound (8 or 9 ounces) whole wheat angel hair pasta, fresh if available
• 12 peeled and cooked shrimp
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesean cheese (optional)
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)

1. Cook angel hair pasta to specifications. While this is preparing, trim ends off asparagus stalks. Cut the remaining stalks in half, below the tip.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in asparagus, tomatoes, and red onion and season with salt and pepper. Add additional olive oil if needed. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add in dry white wine and mix well for 1-2 minutes. Add in cooked shrimp and continue stirring. Add the butter and cook until it melts and the shrimp are hot, stirring constantly.

4. Add the cooked angel hair to the pan, tossing to mix, and turn the heat to medium low. Top the mixed pasta with grated Parmesan and parsley for flavor. I also add in 1 tablespoon of heavy cream to bind all the liquids together, but this is totally optional. Let the pasta absorb the liquid and flavors for 2 minutes.

5. Use tongs to serve on two plates and top with feta cheese.

Note: for a more Greek-ish dish, substitute asparagus with black olives or spinach. I also like mixing fresh scallops and shrimp when available, too.