Ingredients:
- ½ pound spaghetti
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces
- 3 Tablespoons butter divided
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt divided, plus more for cooking pasta
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper ground, or to taste
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley finely chopped, (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
- Grated parmesan to serve
Preparation:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a little salt & olive oil. Cook the pasta according to the instructions until aldente, or desired doneness. Drain the pasta, return to pot and cover to keep warm.
- To prep for the next steps: trim your asparagus, peel the shrimp, mince the garlic cloves.
- While the pasta is cooking, place a large & deep pan over medium/high heat and add about 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add the trimmed asparagus. Season it lightly with ¼ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp pepper (feel free to add a little more if you love pepper like me) and cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Remove it from the pan & set aside.
- Next, in the same skillet, add 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp butter. Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic and sauté, stir frequently (to avoid burning the garlic) for 1 minute. Add the shrimp in a single layer (very important for the batch to be evenly cooked) and season with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Saute until shrimp are pink and not translucent (about 2-3 minutes per side). **You will want to be careful not to overcook them or they will be tough.
- Lastly, add the ¼ cup lemon juice & ⅓ cup chopped parsley (if using), 1 Tbsp lemon zest and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and return pasta and asparagus to the pan. Toss everything to combine and serve with grated parmesan.
