Tonight's seafood recipe is as quick and easy as it is tasty. Plump shrimp marry perfectly with spaghetti and aromatics like garlic, chile flakes and the fruity zest of Meyer lemon. And to give the dish its deliciously creamy finish, we're stirring in a bit of quark (a fresh cheese) just before serving, lightly coating the spaghetti, shrimp and seasonal broccoli.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 10 oz Shrimp
- 6 oz Spaghetti
- 3 Garlic
- 1 Meyer Lemon
- 1/2 lb Broccoli
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Quark
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients:
Wash and dry the fresh produce. Heat a medium pot of salted water to boiling on high. Finely chop the broccoli. Peel and mince the garlic. Using a peeler, remove the yellow rind of the lemon, avoiding the white pith; mince the rind to get 2 teaspoons of zest (or use a zester). Quarter and deseed the lemon.
Cook the broccoli:
In a large pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the broccoli; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and slightly softened. Add the garlic and as much of the red pepper flakes as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add ½ cup of water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes, or until the broccoli has softened and the water has cooked off. Turn off the heat; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the pasta:
While the broccoli cooks, add the spaghetti to the pot of boiling water. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente (still slightly firm to the bite). Reserving 1 cup of the spaghetti cooking water, drain thoroughly.
Add the shrimp:
Once the spaghetti has cooked for about 5 minutes, pat the shrimp dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Add the seasoned shrimp to the pan of cooked broccoli. Cook on medium-high, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through.
Finish the spaghetti:
To the pan, add the cooked spaghetti, butter, lemon zest, the juice of 2 lemon wedges and half the reserved spaghetti cooking water. Cook, stirring vigorously, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the spaghetti is coated. (If the sauce seems dry, gradually add the remaining spaghetti cooking water to achieve your desired consistency.) Turn off the heat. Stir in the quark; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Plate your dish:
Divide the finished spaghetti between 2 dishes. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and the the juice of the remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!