Here's a quick and easy meal to pull together and serve either warm or room temperature. It's great in the summer, or any season really. You can prep the noodles ahead of time as well as the pesto and shrimp and then pull it together when ready.
For the pesto, I use fresh cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and a jalapeño for a slightly spicy, tangy take on the classic. I know cilantro is not universally loved so feel free to replace it with other greens like basil or kale, or use one of my other pesto recipes.
For the shrimp, any deveined, de-shelled will work. I use wild Oregon shrimp that are small, bite-size, and come in counts of 200 to 300 per package which is perfect to mix into the noodles. You can also swap out the shrimp for other seafood like clams or mussels. Or use other sources of protein, or plant-based protein.
For noodles, I use zucchini noodles, chickpea pasta, or a mix of both. You can use any noodles that you prefer. A nice option, if you have time, is to use a mix of noodles like the mixture I use in this rainbow veggie noodle salad to add a variety of flavors and colors.
Resistant starch in noodles. If you'd like to use pasta noodles (grain-free or other) that are lower in starch, you can use the same trick used for starch resistant rice . Cook the noodles in salted water and a bit of olive oil or other vegetable oil, then drain and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Finally, for garnish ideas, top your bowl with grated Parmesan cheese, crumbled goat or feta cheese, roasted cashews, pistachios, or pumpkin seeds.
Cilantro Pesto Shrimp & Noodles
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
Noodles
- 2 large zucchini 4 to 6 cups of zucchini noodles or four servings of gluten or grain-free noodles
Pesto
- 1 cup fresh cilantro packed
- ½ cup raw cashews or other soft nut such as pistachios or walnuts
- 1 small jalapeño trimmed, sliced; remove seeds if you want to bring down the heat
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- 2 tablespoons lime juice about 1 small lime
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water or more as needed to smooth out pesto
- ½ teaspoon salt and more to taste
Shrimp
- 1 pound cooked shrimp deveined and shells off
Instructions
Noodles
- Wash and dry the zucchini and trim the ends.
- Use a spiralizer or peeler to make the zucchini noodles. If making gluten or grain-free noodles, follow the package instructions.
Pesto
- Add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until creamy.
- Add the pesto, noodles, and shrimp to a large blowl and blend with tongs or salad utensils.
- Adjust to your taste, adding more salt, pepper, and lime juice.
- Serve at room temperature or see the recipe notes on how to serve warm. Top with grated Parmesan or cojita cheese, salted cashews or pistachios, and chopped cilantro.
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