Pasta Primavera with Roasted Garlic Shrimp

Pasta Primavera with Garlic Shrimp

This is my version of Pasta Primavera. I like to use firm, crisp vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, and corn because they hold their shape but you can add any kind of vegetables like bell peppers, peas, onions, tomato, or cauliflower all work well in any combination.  
Use what you have on hand and create your own version. That's what I do with all my cooking. Usually this dish is all made in the same pan on the stove but I decided to roast the vegetables, together with the shrimp, on a sheet pan to get the caramelization and sweetness before tossing everything together. It worked out really well and made it so easy. I roasted the shrimp and vegetables together while the pasta cooked and than tossed it all together in the pot the pasta cooked in. The light sauce gives a silky texture without being heavy. It came out really delicious and looked very pretty too!

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

• 2 cups of uncooked fusilli pasta (or short pasta like, penne, rigatoni or farfalle)
• 1 lb of shrimp, shells and tails removed
• 4 cups of broccoli floretts, cut into bit sized pieces (or 1 bag of frozen, steamed floretts)
• 1 cup of carrots, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup of corn 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil (reserve 1 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic  +1 tsp
• squeeze of lemon
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

• 1/2 cup of light cream
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and return to the same pot. Use a pot large enough to toss everything together. Allow cream and butter to warm to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, combine all vegetables, be sure they are bite sized so that they cook evenly. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. If you are using frozen vegetables: microwave them for about 3 minutes and than toss with the oil etc.) 
3. To prep the shrimp, pat them dry with a paper towel and toss them together with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice. 
4. Lay both the vegetables and shrimp on a large baking sheet in a single layer.
5. Bake in a high oven for approximately 12 minutes.
6. Add the cream, butter and parmesan to the pasta and combine. Add the vegetables and shrimp and toss gently until all is coated. 

Hint: You can use the steamed bags of frozen vegetables. Microwave them first for 4 minutes and than continue with the roasting according the the directions in this recipe. It will come out perfect. 

Transfer to a large serving dish with grated parmesan on top.