Creamy Pesto Shrimp Pasta

Creamy Pesto Shrimp Pasta - made September 17, 2021, modified from Salt & Lavender

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup pesto

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup chicken broth or dry white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi or pasta (I used mini raviolis - boil them first if not using gnocchi)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a deep skillet over medium heat, whisk together pesto, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, chicken broth and cream until combined.
2. When the sauce starts to gently bubble, stir in gnocchi or pasta. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and add shrimp. Cover for one minute. Uncover and stir until shrimp is cooked through.
3. Just before serving, stir in parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

I've had a craving for gnocchi recently and saw a recipe for pesto gnocchi from Salt & Lavender that I wanted to try. But alas, Trader Joe's was out of gnocchi and I couldn't find it at Winco or Target either. So I substituted these mini raviolis from TJ's, figuring they would be "close enough".

Er, I was wrong. First, I didn't boil them well enough and the little raviolis apparently aren't that tasty when they're hard little bits of processed pasta.

Second, after I fished out the shrimp and added more liquid to the pasta to cook them to better texture, the pasta drank up the liquid like there was a drought going on (there is). So the dish turned out a little dry. Ah yes, this is more typical of how my cooking efforts usually turn out. Sigh. The flavor was good though, thanks to the fresh pesto I made from my basil plants. And next time I will learn a little pasta goes a long way, make more sauce no matter what the recipe says, and boil the pasta properly first. At least I have the Sausage and Tortellini Soup and the Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup to fall back on.