It’s been raining buckets this month here in Northern Italy. But, that hasn’t stopped me making some delicious seasonal spring pasta recipes. This Italian shrimp and asparagus farfalle is what we enjoyed last weekend. And, I’ll definitely be making it again before asparagus season ends! It is so easy and delicious! Perfect for warm weather lunches and light dinners.
Farfalle con asparagi e gamberetti.
Although the combination of pasta, shrimp and asparagus isn’t an old traditional meal, it’s very very popular 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.
The 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 Italy. Here asparagus, both green and white, 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 farfalle 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 16th 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 click here.
The farfalle I bought to make this shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe was made by Garofalo, one of my favourite producers of Pasta di Gragnano IGP. Pasta di Gragnano IGP is made by a number of different companies located in and around the town of Gragnano, near Naples. This pasta is made according 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 if you can’t find Pasta di Gragnano. You can also use other types of short pasta such as penne. However, farfalle are great with light seafood sauces. This pasta is very popular with salmon and is also excellent in pasta salads. This Italian shrimp and asparagus farfalle works really well as a pasta salad too.
The other ingredients in this pasta, shrimp and asparagus recipe.
Apart from the pasta and asparagus, all you will need to make this delicious and nutritious dish is some cherry tomatoes, garlic (I used fresh garlic), white wine and olive oil. This is an Italian recipe so here it wouldn’t be eaten with cheese. You can add a little spice with some peperoncino flakes. If you want to use herbs, the best would be parsley.
Making Italian shrimp and asparagus farfalle.
This is quite a quick pasta dish to make. The only time consuming part of the preparation is cleaning the shrimp. I used unpeeled frozen shrimps, which I had frozen from fresh. I removed the head, tail and shells from most of them, leaving a few intact for decoration and flavour .
Intact shrimps 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 or while eating. You can use fresh or frozen shrimps or prawns for this shrimp and asparagus pasta recipe. For more flavour, I recommend using unpeeled and uncooked ones. But go with what’s available! I'm sure you'll love this dish either way!
If you do try this 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
- Fettuccine with shrimp
Jacquelyn Hastert says
What a great spring pasta salad! This would work well for any potluck or picnic. It has also been raining buckets here in the midwest USA.
Chef Markus Mueller says
I love how quick and easy this pasta dish is, perfect for a quick weeknight meal! I don't know if I can find shrimp with head on, here in PEI they are not really local and the best I can do is frozen shrimp. I'll have to do some digging and see if I can source them head on....they look so cool!
Rebecca Blackwell says
This recipe includes so many of my favorite things, I can't wait to try it. We live in a land locked area of the world without a lot of good fresh seafood options so I'm going to try it with frozen shrimp. I'm sure it won't be as good as fresh, but still worth a try! Thanks for sharing!
Sonila says
If comfort food had a heaven, this would be it!! What an amazing dish and a creative way to combine shrimp with pasta and vegetables. Love the addition of asparagus!! Yumm
Simone says
I'm always looking for new ways to use asparagus, this looks fabulous!
Ai | Ai made it for you says
What a delicious looking dish! I'll eat anything with shrimp and asparagus! Yum!!
Trop Rockin Tammy says
I love all these ingredients, looking forward to trying them all together!
Silvia says
Sounds terrific!!!
Sharon says
I am all in for any recipe that includes asparagus, pasta, and shrimp!! This looks so yummy and satisfying.
Debbie says
You had me at asparagus and shrimp!! This dish full of such fresh and yummy ingredients . Sometimes simple dishes are the most delicious and this looks like the case. As usual I love that you gave a little lesson on Italy and their greenest asparagus.
Jacqui says
Thank yo Debbie! I agree simple dishes are often the most delicious, especially when the ingredients are fresh and seasonal. Happy you like the info/history I include about the recipes and/or the ingredients!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Mmm... I think I just heard my tummy growl. lol. Thank you for making me hungry!
Veena Azmanov says
Love this Platter and the amazing combinations to it. Tasty and yummy meal.
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen says
What a delicious looking spring dish - I'm using asparagus in everything right now so will be trying this out for sure!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
What a gorgeous spring dish!! If I lived in Veneto, I'd be eating sooo much asparagus! This looks like the perfect dish to make ahead.
Kelly Anthony says
This recipe does look like a perfect lunch and dinner option for summer. I'm always looking for something different to cook with asparagus and this one hits the spot.
Chichi says
I love having options when it comes to pasta. This is definitely going into my meal time rotation. Plus my three yr old finds these cute pasta bows particularly attractive. That’s the only pasta she eats currently.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Shrimp and asparagus are a fab combination and this dish looks so delicious! Perfect for summer.
Jem says
This is definitely my kind of food. Simple and delicious!
Pinelopi Kyriazi says
Give me Asparagus and Pasta and I am sold! I just can live with just eating them every day! 🙂 Loved your recipe!
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
This looks delicious, my husband would devour this as shrimp and asparagus are two of his favourite things!!