Garlic Shrimp and Zucchini Pasta

This is spaghetti with seared shrimp and browned zucchini in a sauce of garlic, butter, white wine, pasta water, and lemon.

The zucchini cooks first in a single layer until it’s golden, then comes out of the pan. The shrimp go in next for about three minutes and come out too. The sauce is made in the same skillet from the browned bits, the wine, and a splash of starchy pasta water, and the shrimp and zucchini go back in at the end just to warm through. The lemon and Parmesan go in with the heat off.

It makes two servings and takes about 30 minutes, most of it waiting for the pasta water to boil.

Why You’ll Love It

• 30 minutes, including boiling the pasta.
• Written for two servings.
• One skillet plus the pasta pot.
• Works with frozen shrimp.
• No cream. The sauce is butter, wine, and pasta water.

Ingredients

6 oz spaghetti or linguine

1/2 lb large shrimp, 21 to 25 count, peeled and deveined

1 medium zucchini, about 8 oz, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch half-moons

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter, divided

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup dry white wine

Zest of half a lemon, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup pasta water, reserved before draining

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente according to the package. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Time the pasta so it’s done when the sauce is, roughly step 6. If it finishes early, drain it and toss with a little olive oil so it doesn’t clump.

2. Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Wet shrimp steam instead of sear.

3. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini in a single layer and don’t stir for 2 minutes. Then turn the pieces and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until golden on both sides and just tender. Season with salt, then move the zucchini to a plate. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, do this in two batches. Crowded zucchini goes soft and gray.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the same skillet. When it foams, add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook 1 1/2 minutes, flip, and cook another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until they’re pink and curled into a C shape. A shrimp curled into a tight O is overcooked. Move them to the plate with the zucchini.

5. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant. Don’t let the garlic brown.

6. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for about 1 minute until reduced by half.

7. Add the drained pasta, 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Toss with tongs for about 1 minute until the butter melts and the sauce clings to the pasta. Add more pasta water a splash at a time if it looks dry.

8. Add the shrimp and zucchini back and toss to warm through, about 30 seconds.

9. Take the pan off the heat. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, Parmesan, and parsley, and toss until the cheese melts in. The lemon and cheese go in off the heat so the lemon stays bright and the Parmesan doesn’t clump.

Helpful Tips and Substitutions

Frozen shrimp are fine and often better than the “fresh” shrimp at the counter, which were frozen anyway. Thaw them fully in the fridge overnight or under cold running water for 10 minutes, then pat them very dry. Any water left on them turns the sear into a steam.

Don’t add more lemon than the recipe says. One tablespoon of juice plus the zest is enough for two servings. Doubling it flattens everything else in the pan.

Chicken broth replaces the wine one for one if you don’t cook with alcohol. You lose a little acidity, so add one more teaspoon of lemon juice at the end, and stop there.

Small, young zucchini taste better than large ones and have fewer seeds and less water. If all you can find are large ones, cut out the seedy core before slicing.

A handful of halved cherry tomatoes added with the shrimp in step 8 works well. So does a tablespoon of capers in step 5 with the garlic.

To make it dairy-free, use all olive oil instead of butter and skip the Parmesan. It’s a lighter sauce but it still works because the pasta water does most of the binding.

Serving Ideas

It’s a full meal on its own. A simple green salad with olive oil and lemon is all it needs alongside.

If you’re serving it to more than two, don’t double the recipe in one skillet. Cook the zucchini and shrimp in batches so they still brown, then make the sauce once with the full amount of pasta.

Crusty bread for the sauce left in the bowl.

Make-Ahead and Storage

This is best eaten right away. Shrimp overcooks on reheating and the pasta absorbs the sauce as it sits.

If you have leftovers, they keep in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce, and stop as soon as the shrimp are warm.

Don’t freeze it.

To get ahead, cook the zucchini up to a day early and keep it in the fridge. Once the pasta water is boiling, everything else is about 10 minutes of cooking.