Summery Shrimp with Pesto

This is "preppy" because it's pink and green. It's a summer recipe because home gardeners end up with too much basil and too many zucchini in July and August. I like to serve the pesto on the side because it is very potent and this way each person can control the potency.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 mins
• Calories: 424 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• ½ (12 ounce) package angel hair pasta
• 1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic, or more to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons water, divided, or as needed
• ¾ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced, green and white parts separated
• 2 small zucchini, sliced 1/2-inch thick, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Step 2

Add basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper to a blender. Pulse and stir down. Drizzle in tiny amounts of water and continue to pulse and stir down, then blend to desired consistency.

Step 3

Melt butter in the empty pasta pot. Saute shrimp over medium heat until bright pink and opaque, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Set aside.

Step 4

Add white and light green parts of scallions to the pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute more. Add sliced zucchini and saute over medium-high heat, stirring and turning occasionally, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so zucchini starts to caramelize, but don't cook to mush.

Step 5

Quickly stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for 30 seconds to reduce the liquid, then remove from heat. Stir in shrimp.

Step 6

Spoon shrimp and zucchini over the pasta. Garnish with green onion tops. Serve with pesto on the side.