daily meal

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Pasta with Roasted Shrimp and Cucumbers

It is that time of year again! That time when all of the fresh, summer, produce is out in the market and the Food Network finally begins it's long anticipated FN Dish Summer Fest! The FN Dish Summer Fest is a weekly franchise where bloggers make a different dish each week, incorporating a different summer produce item!



For the first week of Summer Fest, we had to use cucumbers in our meal.  During cucumber week last year, I made a creamy cucumber sauce and cucumber salad that I served with ahi tuna. This year, however, I was unsure of what to make.  The thought of cucumber salads, soups, and gazpacho's came to mind, but for some reason, my tummy was just not in the mood for any of those items.  Then, David started hounding me to make him dinner using the whole wheat pasta I had on hand, and that's when it hit me! I decided to make a lightened up, summer, pasta dinner, using roasted shrimp tossed with cut up cucumbers, feta, and fresh chives from my cousins' garden! The end result - a delicious, easy-to-make, guilt-free, dinner.

Penne with Roasted Shrimp and Cucumbers

Ingredients:
-1 box whole wheat penne pasta
-1 pound of shrimp, deveined
-2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
-2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
-Olive oil for drizzling
-Parsley, chopped for sprinkling*
-Chives, chopped for sprinkling*
-Feta cheese for sprinkling*
-Salt and pepper to taste

*Please note, all of these items are optional and you can add as much or as little as you wish.  I just chopped up a handful and used them to top off the dish and add color. You could also toss in other herbs and seasonings. 


Directions:
Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.  Also, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Once the water boils, pour the penne in and cook until it is al dente (about 9-11 minutes).  While the pasta is still cooking, place the shrimp on a baking pan and toss with a little bit of olive oil (I just drizzle a small amount), salt, and pepper.  Place the shrimp in the preheated oven and cook for about 5-6 minutes.  It is important that you do not overcook the shrimp as it will become very chewy.  When the shrimp is done, remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, take your cooked pasta and strain.  Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the butter and a little bit of olive oil (again, I just drizzle a small amount).  Once the butter has melted, and the pasta is coated, toss in the roasted shrimp, cucumbers, parsley, chives, feta (if using), and a little salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately and enjoy!


For more great ways to use cucumbers, check out the following links:


Pin It

11 comments:

  1. Delicious pasta recipe! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a delicious and easy recipe. This would make for the perfect mid week meal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Elyse! "Elise" from Cooking with Elise here... : - ) My hubby loves shrimp and cucumbers so I'm all over thsi recipe. thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Elise! What a great name! :) I hope your husband enjoys this!

      Delete
  4. A wonderful combination of flavors. Fun sharing Summer Fest with you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fun summer project! I love your pasta with shrimp and cukes...it looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your pasta looks so delicious and refreshing! What a great way to cook penne pasta! Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Skinnysweetsdaily.comJuly 18, 2012 at 10:16 PM

    Looks healthy and delish!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ooooh! Fantastic use of some yummy cucumbers :) Bring on the summer fest!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Delectable combo! The crunch and the freshness of cucumber gives shrimps a whole new flavor. Something unexpected and unique. Gonna try this for the weekend. Hubby will be thrilled, I bet! =)

    Myfudo here...Normally we'd never put a shameless plug back to us, but we just launched our new site and we would love for you to be a part of it. I'd love to share our newest launch with you, I hope you don't mind? Now that we are getting a new look...Myfudo is moving to a new domain http://www.yumgoggle.com This has been a project we have been working on for almost a year now. We just launched our new gallery submission site, and we are just thrilled. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! Please sign up and check us out (it's free) http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery
    We look forward to seeing your wonderful pictures, as always.
    p.s. We are hosting a Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway to celebrate our new Yumgoggle site, we hope you'll participate =)
    http://www.yumgoggle.com/cupcakes-cakes-very-moist-chocolate-chocolate-cake-a-kitchenaid-mixer-giveaway/

    ReplyDelete