Get the whole family involved in preparing this crowd-pleasing Lemon and Butter Shrimp Pasta recipe.
Maizy’s tips for young chefs
Ask an adult for help adding the shrimp to the pan with the melted butter and olive oil and again when adding the pasta water and broth to the other components. When adding water to a pan with heated fat, the oil won’t mix with the water, causing the hot oil to splatter out of the pan and burn you if you get too close.
If you need to devein and shell your shrimp, have an adult help. This requires a lot of intricate work with a paring knife, which is very small and sharp.
When you are done cooking the pasta, don’t drain it yourself if it’s too heavy. It’s really easy to burn yourself on the pot or the water if it spills over—plus, it’s really easy to drop.
Happy cooking!
Lemon and Butter Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp
- ½ cup chopped asparagus
- 1 box gluten-free spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free seafood seasoning
- 5 tablespoons gluten-free chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
First things first, if you didn’t buy deveined and shelled shrimp, devein them and remove the shells. Next, prepare the asparagus. Snap the sticks so the dead white part at the bottom is removed. The stalk will snap where the dead part naturally meets the healthy part. Once you have done this with all of your stalks, slice them into rounds, either diagonally or straight on penny-rounds—it won’t affect the taste, only the look.
Boil a pot of water, following the directions on the box of spaghetti. While the water is boiling, add the olive oil and butter to a large frying pan on medium heat. Toss the cleaned shrimp with the seafood seasoning and then into the frying pan with the butter and oil on medium heat. Once the shrimp are in the pan, wait around 3 minutes before flipping them over to the other side and cooking for a few more minutes. The shrimp should be pink and slightly browned. After the shrimp are done (you can check by taking one out of the pan and cutting it in half—there should be no translucency, only opaque white), remove from the pan to a clean bowl.
Next, add the asparagus to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it is cooked to your liking. You can tell if the asparagus is cooked by the color. An undercooked or raw piece will have its natural young green color, but a properly cooked one will have a bit of a deeper green. Once the asparagus is done, add the shrimp back to the pan.
Now, the pasta should be done (cooked to your liking, but I recommend al dente for this purpose) so add it to the pan with the shrimp. Also add the pasta water and broth, along with the lemon zest and juice. Toss together and serve!
