>Roasted Shrimp with Lemon Pasta and Asparagus

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Ever noticed how some great ideas seem to come out of nowhere? I had barely finished vacuuming up all the confetti the kids had strewn throughout the house for New Year’s when I started hearing about roasting shrimp. First I read about it in the copy of Food Network Magazine my sister had just given me. Turns out that the Barefoot Contessa was roasting shrimp to bring out the flavor. Then I saw some gorgeous pictures at Fresh, Local and Best, this time roasted with coconut.

It made so much sense, I couldn’t think of why I had never tried it. I had boiled shrimp, pan fried shrimp, poached shrimp, braised shrimp and even barbecued shrimp. But I had never roasted it… until this week.

I roasted some wild caught shrimp tossed in balsamic and olive oil. After I peeled and deveined my pound of shrimp, the rest of the process took less than 10 minutes. No messy scum on a pot to clean up. No pan to scrub. Just a cookie sheet covered with some foil. So easy… and so good!

I tossed the shrimp with lemon angel hair pasta and served it with roasted asparagus. The roasting really does bring out the flavors. The shrimp was incredibly sweet and the entire meal was in perfect harmony. My taste buds remained tingly and happy for the rest of the night.

Balsamic Roasted Shrimp with Lemon Pasta and Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients:
for the shrimp:
1 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to your liking.

for the lemon pasta:
1 box of angel hair pasta

juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons of salted butter, melted
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to your liking.
For the asparagus:

1 bunch of asparagus
1/4 cup of olive oil
Kosher Salt and ground black pepper, to your liking. 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Cut or break the tough bottoms of the asparagus spears. Spread out the asparagus in one layer on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle olive oil, salt, and pepper evenly on top. Roast in oven for 15 minutes.
4. Toss the cleaned and deveined shrimp in a bowl with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic. Spread evenly in one layer on another cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast in oven for 8 minutes, until pink and cooked through.
5. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid before draining. Toss the pasta immediately with the butter, 1/4 cup of olive oil, lemon juice, and reserved pasta liquid. Add salt and pepper.
6. As soon as the shrimp is cooked, fold into the pasta. Serve immediately alongside the asparagus.

FYI… I had these as a leftover the next day and they were still delicious. The sauce did not separate and all was still tangy and fresh.