Mushroom and Shrimp Pasta with Asparagus

I love pasta and a creamy mushroom sauce is my favorite to pair with it. It’s creamy and filled with mushroom, black pepper and garlic flavor. The shrimp is a nice light touch to this pasta (although you can pair this with any meat of your choice, or eat it on it’s own). Additionally, if you’re looking for a healthier alternative, red lentil pasta is flavorful, provides more protein, fiber, and less carbohydrates. This simple and quick recipe is perfect for those days when you have limited time to cook and want a comforting meal. It also tastes just as good the next day. I’m positive you’ll love it, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!

• Prep Time

  30 minutes

• Cook Time

  40 min

• Serves

  3

Ingredients

1 cup Red Lentil Pasta (or whatever pasta you prefer)

1 bush of Asparagus

5 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms

8 - 12 pieces of White Shrimp, shells removed

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan

2 tsp Black Pepper

Dash of salt

1 Shallot

6 Cloves of Garlic

Parsley to garnish

4 tbsp of Unsalted Butter

Pasta water to thin sauce if needed

Directions:

Vegetables

Start by thoroughly washing your asparagus and mushrooms. Dry you vegetables and then thinly slice mushrooms and place aside. Gentle snap asparagus to where the stalk naturally breaks, this will ensure you don’t have those tough parts of the asparagus in your dish. Once you’ve finished preparing, finely chop your shallot and crush garlic.

Prepare your shrimp, remove shells and place to the side. Once all of your ingredients is prepped, heat your pan to medium temperature and coat with a thin layer of olive oil. Throw in your asparagus and cook until tender ( add a dash of salt for taste) and remove from pan. Next sauté your mushrooms for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown and remove from pan. Finally, add in your shrimp and cook until the meat is no longer translucent. Add a bit of salt and black pepper and remove from pan.

Pasta

Add a 1/2 tbsp of oilve oil and a generous amount of salt to your water. Be careful not to over salt your water. Turn our oven on high heat and bring to a boil. Once water comes to a boil, add in your pasta and cook for 4 minutes. Save some of that pasta water, and drain the rest.

Sauce

Bring your pan to medium heat and add in your butter. Once melted, throw in your shallots and cook until they begin to look translucent. Then add your garlic and cook for about 2 minutes before seasoning with black pepper. Pour in your heavy cream first, stir and then add parmesan cheese, mix until combined. If your sauce is too thick, add a little pasta water to thin it out. Check the consistency of the sauce, you want it to be thick enough to coat your pasta but not too thick to where it resembles cheese sauce. Once your sauce in complete, go ahead and put your asparagus and mushrooms in. Toss until everything is well coated and then mix in your pasta and lastly shrimp. Throughly fold everything in until fully coated with sauce. Chop some parsley to garnish and serve.