Pasta with Creamy Avocado Pesto and Grilled Shrimp
| January 9, 2013 | Posted by Camilla under Good Food, Good Tips |
Baby it’s cold outside and all I want is hearty, warm comfort food. This craving does not exactly go well with a New Years resolution to eat more salad. What is one to do…? Make a creamy, filling, satisfying AND heart warming meal in a lightened up version. Whip up in a flash and there is the the comfort of pasta and freshness from avocado mixed with fresh herbs and lemon. So creamy yet light and fresh.
This avocado/pesto sauce which I found on FoodRepublic.com right here Avocado Cream Pasta Sauce and modified slightly then added shrimp to is a win win if you ask me. Thanks Food Republic!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flat leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 avocados, peeled and pits removed
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice from fresh lemon - keep the peel for zesting later
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 20 medium raw shrimp
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Wood Skewers for grilling shrimp
- 1/2 package of spaghetti
Directions
- Place shrimp, peel still on in a small bowl. Add salt, onion powder, garlic and olive oil. Let marinate while making avocado mixture and boiling pasta.
- Soak wood skewers in water during the marinating period.
- When pasta has been boiling for a few minutes, pre heat grill or grill pan over medium high heat. Skewer marinated shrimp on wood skewers and grill until cooked thru, about 2 minutes on each side. Set aside to serve with pasta and avocado mixture.
- Put 2 cups of flat leaf parsley leaf in a food processor and run for a minute or so until leaves are chopped.
- Add roughly chopped garlic and avocado to parsley and start food processor again. Slowly drizzle oil into running food processor then add lemon juice.
- Keep processing until the mixture is smooth.
- Add rice vinegar and salt and stir well with spoon. Season to taste with more salt if you wish or some cracked black pepper.
- Boil spaghetti according to package instructions
- In large bowl mix together pasta, as much or litle avocado mixture as you want and shrimp. Top with some zested lemon. The avocado mixture does not heat up well, so its best to keep spaghetti and avocado separate if you don't intend to eat it all in one sitting. Then just mix with hot spaghetti and shrimp when its time to eat leftovers!
Keep avocado mixture fresh longer by putting the avocado pits in the mix, then press down plastic wrap on top of to keep all air out. No more brown avocados!
Put shrimp on skewers to make for a quick and easy grilling experience. Instead of flipping over one shrimp at a time just turn over the whole skewer.
Just so happens that Shine Supper Club is calling Bloggers to share their healthy recipes for the start of the year, this should be a nice addition!
Yummy! Creamy and Pasta in the same sentence always wins with me. Top it with shrimp and its a landslide. This looks great! I will definately be trying this one.
fantastic! let me know how you like it
I am confused. When do you add the avocado? I keep re-reading the instructions, but must not be doing so correctly. I see them in the ingredients but not the directions. Thank you. I love avocado and I love pesto, so ….
Thanks for the note, Helen! You add it along with the garlic. I have updated the instructions
Thank you! Mmmm, garlic, avocado, who could ask for more?
hmmmm This looks delic!!!! I think I will try making it tonight… along with some cinnamon rolls for desert!!!!
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! Very easy but different.. and tasty of course.
So glad to hear you liked it!
About how many servings is this?
It is about 4 servings of pasta. You will have leftover avocado mix, which can be enjoyed as a guacamole, or paired with more pasta if you boil some more.
This sounds wonderful, Camilla! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I don’t own any rice wine vinegar, is it critical to the recipe? I’m happy to buy some, but wondering if there’s a convenient alternative. I can’t wait to try!
Hi Kate, no – it is not critical to make it with rice vinegar, that is just a personal preference of mine. Play around with it to make the recipe work for you and your family’s needs. I ended up adding some salsa to my last batch, and it turned out really great. So that would be a great alternative to the rice vinegar – your favorite salsa.