Shrimp and Asparagus with Gluten Free Penne

Gluten Free Shrimp and Asparagus with Penne

This easy gluten free version of Shrimp with Asparagus and Penne is a perfect example of how quickly you can make a delicious complete meal with just a few simple ingredients.  There’s no need for fast food when you have recipes like this in your arsenal that can be thrown together in mere minutes.  

This is healthy eating at its finest. 

Using a low calorie, non starchy vegetable like asparagus, which is about 30 calories per cup, enables you to use a smaller amount of the pasta, which is closer to 200 calories per cup.  But with the ratios in this dish you’ll still be enjoying an abundant plate of food without feeling like you are sacrificing a thing.  And when you’re using fresh vegetables in a recipe like this you’ll be getting a lot of vitamins and minerals that would be missing in a dish like shrimp scampi servied with pasta and no vegetables.    

Shrimp and Asparagus with Gluten Free Penne

Prep time:  5 min

Cook time:  12 min

Ingredients

• 8 oz of shrimp peeled and deveined
• 4 oz of gluten free penne
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• salt and pepper to taste  
• red pepper flakes, optional

Video Tutorial

Instructions

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Stir the shrimp together with the lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Rinse the asparagus. Remove and discard the bottom 1/3 of the stem.  Chop the remaining portion into  2 inch lengths to mirror the size of the penne.
4. When the water comes to a boil add the penne and stir for about 30 seconds to make sure they’re not sticking together.
5. In a large nonstick sauté pan over a medium high heat, add the marinated shrimp and sauté for two minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side then turn off the heat so the shrimp doesn’t overcook.
6. When the pasta is 2 minutes shy of being done add the asparagus to the same boiling water with the penne.
7. When the pasta and asparagus are both done drain them and add them to the pan with the shrimp then turn the pan back on to a medium low heat.
8. Squeeze over the fresh lemon juice.  Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted and the shrimp is heated through and serve.

Notes: In the recipe I used Sam Mills Penne Rigati which is a gluten free corn based pasta.  It had an outstanding texture that closely resembled the wheat pasta from my days before being gluten free.  If you’re not following a gluten free diet, you can use regular pasta.