Alright, so the other day, I had this craving, you know? Something creamy, something with pasta, but I wanted a bit of a fresh kick to it. And I had some shrimp just sitting in the freezer, practically begging to be used. That’s when it hit me – creamy shrimp pasta, but topped off with a good old pico de gallo. Seemed like a winner in my head, so I figured, why not give it a whirl?
First Things First: That Fresh Pico
So, before I even thought about boiling water for pasta, I got started on the pico de gallo. I always think it tastes better if it sits for a little bit, lets all those flavors get friendly. I grabbed a few ripe tomatoes – gotta be ripe, makes all the difference – and chopped ’em up. Not too fine, not too chunky, just right. Then, a good chunk of white onion, diced up small. Some folks like red onion, but I was in a white onion mood. Cilantro, of course, a nice big handful, chopped. And a jalapeño. I took most of the seeds out, didn’t want to blow my head off, just wanted a little warmth. Squeezed in the juice of a whole lime, a pinch of salt, and gave it a good stir. Set that aside on the counter. Done.
Getting the Main Event Going
Next up, the pasta. I filled up my biggest pot with water, salted it good – like the sea, they say – and got that on the stove to boil. While that was heating up, I dealt with the shrimp. They were already peeled and deveined, thankfully, so that saved me a job. Just gave them a quick rinse and patted them dry. I decided to use linguine for the pasta; felt right for a creamy sauce. Once the water was bubbling like crazy, in went the linguine. Gave it a stir so it wouldn’t stick.
While the pasta was doing its thing, I got my big skillet out. A bit of olive oil, a knob of butter – because butter makes everything better, right? – and let that get hot. Tossed in some minced garlic, just for a minute until it was smelling amazing, then in went the shrimp. Didn’t take long, just a couple of minutes each side until they were pink and cooked through. Scooped those out and set them aside.
Now, for the creamy sauce. In that same skillet, with all those lovely shrimpy, garlicky bits, I poured in some heavy cream. Let that warm up a bit, then I started grating in some Parmesan cheese. A good amount. Kept stirring it until it was all melted and the sauce started to thicken up. A little salt, a little black pepper. Tasted it. Yep, that was coming along nicely.
Bringing It All Together
By this time, the linguine was pretty much done – al dente, just how I like it. I used my tongs to pull the pasta straight from the water into the skillet with the sauce. A little of that starchy pasta water came along for the ride, which is great for helping the sauce cling. Tossed it all together real good, making sure every strand of pasta was coated. Then, I added the cooked shrimp back in. Gave it another gentle toss.
And there we had it. Scooped a big pile of that creamy, shrimpy pasta onto a plate. Looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. But the final touch, the thing that was gonna make it pop, was that pico de gallo I made earlier. Spooned a generous amount right on top. The colors, man, the red from the tomatoes, green from the cilantro and jalapeño, against that creamy pasta… beautiful.
The Verdict?
Took a bite. Oh yeah. The creaminess of the sauce, the tender shrimp, the perfectly cooked pasta… and then BAM! That fresh, zesty, slightly spicy pico de gallo just cut through all the richness and brightened everything up. It was exactly what I was hoping for. The warm pasta with the cool pico on top was a great combo. Definitely making this one again. Simple, but it really hits the spot. Maybe next time I’ll add a little more jalapeño to the pico, just for an extra kick. But honestly, it was pretty darn good as is. A successful kitchen adventure, I’d say!
