Easy Italian Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta Recipe.

This easy Italian shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe is a super tasty spring recipe that can be served warm or as a pasta salad. Sautéed fresh green asparagus and shrimps are combined with small datterini tomatoes, white wine and garlic to make a light fresh condiment. I used lovely farfalle (bow-tie) but you can use other short pasta types.

Farfalle con asparagi e gamberetti.

Although the combination of pasta, shrimp and asparagus isn’t an old traditional meal, it’s very very popular here in Italy today. And, of course, all the ingredients are not only Italian and typical but have been cooked and eaten by Italians for generations.

Italian asparagus.

Italy cultivates the most green asparagus in Europe and is the third largest producer of white asparagus. I’m lucky to live in Veneto, the biggest asparagus growing region in the country. Here, both green and white asparagus are an important ingredient in the spring kitchen.  

Italians eat asparagus in many different ways but the most popular are in risotto, soup and with pasta.  This shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe is a delicious example of how well asparagus and pasta go together. If you want to read more about the history of asparagus in the Italian kitchen check out my recipe for pasta with asparagus.

The pasta.

I used farfalle pasta for this recipe. Farfalle, also known outside of Italy as bow tie pasta, are actually a fairly old pasta shape. In fact, farfalle pasta dates back to the 16^th century!!  I have read that this pasta was invented as a way to use up leftover pasta dough after making filled cappelletti. You can read more about the history of farfalle if you like.

The farfalle I used in this shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe was from Garofalo, one of my favourite producers of Pasta di Gragnano IGP. Pasta di Gragnano IGP is made by a number of companies located in and around the town of Gragnano, near Naples. This pasta is produced to very strict regulations and is probably one of the best dried pastas in Italy.  

Of course, you can use other brands of farfalle or bow tie pasta. You can also use other short pasta shapes such as penne.  However, farfalle are great with light seafood sauces. This pasta is very popular with smoked salmon and is also excellent in pasta salads. This Italian shrimp and asparagus farfalle works really well as a pasta salad too.

Ingredients in this pasta, shrimp and asparagus recipe.

Apart from the pasta, all you will need to make this delicious and nutritious easy pasta dish is some fresh green asparagus, cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, white wine and olive oil (for cooking).

Asparagus: This recipe calls for fresh young green asparagus. Young asparagus are sweeter and have more tender stalks. Larger/older asparagus tend to have stringy stalks which take longer to cook. If fresh asparagus aren't available, you could use frozen ones.

Shrimp: Use fresh or frozen unpeeled large shrimp. I used unpeeled frozen shrimp, which I had frozen from fresh. I removed the head, tail and shells from most of them, leaving a few intact for decoration and flavor.

Intact fresh shrimp or prawns add more flavour to the sauce. In fact, when time is not of the essence, I prefer to cook shrimps and prawns intact and shell them after cooking or even while eating.

Tomatoes: Small cherry or datterini tomatoes are best because they are sweeter, cook quickly and don't release much water.

Garlic: As is typical in many Italian recipes the garlic cloves are sautéed whole and then removed at the end of cooking. For more garlic flavor, you can chop the garlic cloves. But, be careful that the garlic doesn't burn when cooking it with the asparagus stalks.

White wine: Since I live in the Soave region, I used a Soave Classico from wine maker Ca’Rugate. However, any good dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc works too. I prefer to use a wine I like to drink in cooking, especially when there are only a few ingredients in a dish.

Optional ingredients

This is an Italian recipe so here we don't eat seafood pasta with cheese. But, you can add a little spice with some peperoncino (red pepper flakes). If you want to use fresh herbs, the best would be fresh parsley or fresh basil.

Step by step instructions.

This is quite a quick pasta dish to make. The only time consuming part of the preparation is cleaning the shrimp.

1) Prepare the asparagus by removing the tougher end of the stalk by bending each spear at about two thirds of the way down. The end of the stalk should snap off. Discard the lower parts of the stalks. Then separate the rest of the stalk from the tip. Cut the remaining stalks into small pieces.

2) Peel the cloves of garlic and prepare the shrimp by removing the head and the shell from most of them. Keep 4-8 intact. Rinse them under running water and drain them.

3) Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.

4) In a large frying pan or large deep skillet, sauté the garlic in the olive oil for a few moments, add the pieces of asparagus stalk and cook them covered with a lid over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. After this time (the asparagus must be wilted but not too soft)

5) Add the washed, dried and halved cherry tomatoes and the asparagus tips and continue cooking over a medium-high heat for another 10 minutes.

6) At this point, add the shrimps and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for a minute then pour in the white wine, turn up the heat and let the alcohol evaporate. Continue cooking on a medium heat for about another 5 minutes.

7) Cook the farfalle pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Before draining, save a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce with a splash of the saved cooking water.

8) Mix everything together well. If the pasta seems too dry, add a little more cooking water. Saute everything together for a minute or two. Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped parsley/basil or a few peperoncino flakes according to taste. Altenatively allow to come to room temperature and serve as a salad with a drizzle of olive oil. 

What to do with leftovers.

You can keep leftover shrimp and asparagus pasta in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. Re heat in the microwave or bring to room temperature before serving as a salad. This dish makes a delicious weeknight meal or serve as a pasta salad at a pot luck, buffet or picnic. I don't recommend freezing this dish.

Let me know what you think.

If you do try this shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe, I’d love to hear what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.

Your feedback means a lot to me!

Buon appetito!

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More seafood pasta recipes you may like

• Conchiglioni with prawns
• Mafaldine with fresh tuna
• Pasta all’eoliana
• Salt cod (baccalà) tagliatelle
• Shrimp pasta salad
• Linguine alla vongole

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