Pretty Summer Pasta

I stumbled upon this pretty pasta the other day at HomeGoods and it was just too cute to pass up! I thought it would be perfect to "spice" up a pasta dish and give it a summery feel. I instantly knew what I wanted to make, a Shrimp Portifino inspired dish. So, I picked up a good bottle of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), as Rachel Ray would say, and went home with a mission!

What I used:

* Torino's All Natural Mother In Law's Tongue (pictured above)

* EVOO

* 12 Fresh Florida Gulf Shrimp (Peeled, we did 12 for two of us)

* 2 Large Fresh Minced Garlic Gloves

* 1.5 c. Sliced Mushrooms

* Pine Nuts

* 1.5 c. Baby Spinach

* Salt & Pepper

* Bring water to a non-rolling boil (as per the package instructions)

* Place whole pasta in water. Work into water as it boils until completely submerged.

* Boil for 12 minutes or until al dente

While the pasta is boiling,

* Heat about enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your pan. 

* Add as many pine nuts as you would like and roast them until they have slight brown marks. Be careful not to burn them. Add a pinch of salt if you would like. (I added quite a bit of pine nuts as both my husband and I love them)

* Add both cloves of Garlic and your Shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink. Add a few sprinkles of salt & pepper.

* Add in Mushrooms and cook slightly. Be careful not to over cook or they will shrink down. You just want to knock the crisp out of them a little (if that makes sense?) 

* Top with about 1.5 to 2 cups of baby spinach (it cooks down quite a bit) and cover until spinach has wilted.

taken before spinach,

Drain pasta, place back in pot and gently stir in shrimp mixture. Top with about 2 tablespoons of EVOO & Voila, you have a light & pretty summer pasta dish!

You could also use chicken instead of Shrimp and if you're like me and you really love garlic, you could probably add another clove or two. 

My husband and I both loved it! He said he felt like he was dining at a nice restaurant (I am sure he was just being nice), but it was good & fun! I do wish the pasta would have kept it's color a little more, but it did the trick! We didn't finish it all, but that just means I get to have it for lunch today, yipee!

"We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are" ~ Oprah

xx,

Jaime