Marisa's Italian Kitchen

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Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp

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This bright and bold Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp is always a winner at my house!

This dish features succulent jumbo shrimps which have been marinated in a few simple ingredients. Aside from the shrimp and spaghetti, all you’ll need are extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, minced garlic and lots of parsley. 

Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp

You’ll love this dish for it’s simplicity and for how quickly it can be put together on a busy weeknight! Or, for those very special weekend suppers.

How impressive is it with the spaghetti twirled high on a serving dish and mounted with the lemon garlic shrimp! I do believe it merits an orgasmic sigh!

Spaghetti and shrimp in a skillet

Easy Peel Black Tiger Shrimp

Raw easy peel shrimp are an ideal choice for busy weeknights!

The shells are pre-cut and the shrimp are deveined for you. All you need to do is peel back the shell while leaving the tail intact.

You can do this ahead of time and keep the shrimp in the fridge until you are ready to marinate them.

Once marinated, set them aside for 15-20 minutes. This allows the time to bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil.

The amount of time to cook the shrimp will depend on their size. Mine were the 16/20 count per pound and required about a minute or so on each side.

Once the pasta is placed in the salted water, heat a large skillet to cook the shrimp. If your skillet is small, you can cook them in batches.

By the time the pasta is ready so are the shrimp. Just proceed with the rest of the recipe and you can have supper ready in less than 30 minutes.

Spaghetti tossed with shrimp

When a recipe requires just a few simple ingredients, I believe the best and freshest are essential!

Twirling the spaghetti as in the photo will easily yield 6 portions. I find this more than enough especially when serving a multiple coarse meal. However, when serving as a main dish with a salad on the side, you will have 4 generous portions.

Plated spaghetti and shrimp

Make it tonight and impress friends and family with this relatively easy to make, Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp recipe.

Buon Appetito!

Plated spaghetti and shrimp
Print Recipe

Lemon Spaghetti with shrimp

A bright and bold lemon spaghetti dish with jumbo garlic, lemon shrimps.
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 -6
Author: Marisa

Ingredients

  • Shrimp Marinade
  • 1 1/4 lb large shrimp shelled and deveined
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • lemon zest from 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Pasta Lemon Sauce
  • 454 grams spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • lemon zest from one lemon
  • salt to taste I used fine sea salt
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a bowl toss together the shrimp, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, chopped parsley and minced garlic.
  • Set aside to marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • When water reaches a rapid boil, toss in the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions.
  • While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook in a single layer, for about 2 minutes turning them over once.
  • Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to cook the shrimps in 2 batches.
  • Once shrimps are cooked transfer to a plate.
  • Whisk together the 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and 1/3 cup lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.
  • Drain the spaghetti reserving about 1 cup of pasta water.
  • Add the spaghetti to your skillet with the lemon sauce and a little bit of the pasta water. Toss well.
  • Add in the parsley and lemon zest and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add in a little more pasta water to moisten if needed.
  • Once plated, sprinkle more Parmesan cheese and add a small drizzle of EVOO if desired.

Easy Marinara Sauce

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A simple and Easy Marinara Sauce made with good quality San Marzano canned tomatoes.

Easy Marinara Sauce stored in a mason jar.

Marinara Sauce From Scratch

Canned tomatoes make a delicious Easy Marinara Sauce.

The key to making this super easy tomato sauce is good quality San Marzano tomatoes as well as the best and freshest onions, celery, carrots and garlic. You will be rewarded with the most sensational aromas and intense flavours of a great simple sauce.

Basil is one of my absolute favourite herb and I love to use both the dry and fresh basil in my tomato sauce. The dried variety is great for a long simmering pasta sauce as it has time to infuse the dish with its sweet scent.

When I have an abundance of fresh basil, I will add a couple of springs during the simmering time. Then I’ll simply fish it out and finish the sauce with an additional layer of shredded basil just before serving.

Chopped carrots, celery and onions.

Taking the time to sauté the onions until they are translucent ensures a sauce full of flavour.

A sauté of carrots, celery and onions.

Pot od simmering marinara sauce.

 

Penne pasta on a white plate.

What is Marinara Sauce Used For?

This recipe is so versatile, one I turn to when making my Chicken Parmesan with Kale or serving it alongside my Arancini. It is also my go to recipe for simmering melt in your mouth meatballs.

It can also be served with any pasta of your choice.

After draining the cooked pasta, I prefer to coat it with a ladle or two of tomato sauce. Then stir well, plate and add additional sauce with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

It’s also wonderful over gnocchi or you can use it in your favourite baked pasta dishes.

Alternately, you can add some hot chilli flakes while it’s simmering and use as a spicy dipping sauce.

Marinara sauce in a mason jar.

Marinara sauce pored in a mason jar.

This recipe makes enough to fill 2 mason jars. It can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or can be frozen for later use.

Buon Appetito!

Easy Marinara Sauce stored in a mason jar.
Print Recipe

Easy Marinara Sauce

A simple and Easy Marinara Sauce made with good quality San Marzano canned tomatoes, and a medley of chopped onions, carrots and celery.
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Easy Marinara Sauce
Author: Marisa

Ingredients

  • Let's Get started with Easy Marinara Sauce
  • Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 2 medium onions peeled and diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 28 ounces canned San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes crushed
  • 1 tablespoon dry basil
  • 2 springs of fresh basil intact on the branch plus an additional
  • 1/2 cup shredded basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Pour the olive oil in a sauce pot and stir in the chopped carrots, celery, onions and minced garlic. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
  • Cook for about 8 minutes or just until the vegetables soften and the onions are translucent. (Taking the time to sauté the onions until they are translucent ensures a sauce full of flavor.)
  • Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Fill the tomato cans with 3/4 full of water, give it a good swirl to release any tomato bits resting at the bottom of the can and add this to the pot.
  • Stir in the dry basil and the 2 basil sprigs, salt and pepper. Turn up the heat, cover and bring your sauce up to a boil, stirring and checking frequently. Once you have an active boil, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer covered for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
  • At this point the sauce should have thickened and reduced by a quarter. If not, simply remove the lid, turn up the heat a little and let it cook for a half hour longer. When it becomes concentrated enough, you will know it is ready. Just before serving fish out the two sprigs of basil and add in the additional 1/2 cup shredded basil. Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.

 

Lasagna

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My mother was a kind and gentle soul. On Sunday afternoons she would happily look forward to the arrival of her daughters and grand-kids, greeting everyone at the door and after the initial “buon giorno” she would turn to her grand-kids and proclaim “mi sembra dimagrito”, you look like you’ve lost some weight. Come, come nonna will feed you!  And so the Sunday feast would begin!!!

My Italian meals are often based on my own mother’s recipes. She truly made the absolute best Lasagna but maybe I’m just biased that way! It certainly was not a recipe that can be thrown together after a busy day at work. It was one reserved for special occasions like Christmas, Easter or even a birthday celebration. It was one she would take great care and time to create, making most of the prep work the day before and she would assemble and bake it the same day it was served. I will share her recipe with a special secret ingredient in a later post to truly do it justice!

This lasagna recipe I’ve adapted better suits a busy mom. It is one I have made over and over again for my own family. While you can use any canned tomatoes of your choice I highly recommend San Marzano. They are much sweeter and have low acidity and seed count and are by far the most famous tomatoes to come out of Italy.

This recipe serves 12 people. You will need a pan about 15 by 10 1/2 by 2 1/2, approximately.

My daughter and her friends are eagerly waiting for the recipe so here it is girls!  Buon Appetito!!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 lb minced Veal
  • 1 lb mild Italian Sausage, casings removed
  • 2  28 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
  • 1  5.5 ounces tomato paste (small can)
  • 1 tbls  dried basil
  • 1/2 cup snipped fresh basil
  • 1 tsp  kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp  black pepper
  • 4 cups  water, approximately
  • 375g   lasagna noodles, oven ready (no boil)
  • 4 cups  grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

In a large skillet or saucepan, add the olive oil, chopped onion, minced garlic, veal and Italian sausage. Cook on medium-high heat until the meat is browned and the onions are translucent using a wooden spoon to break down the meat as it cooks. Drain off the fat.

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Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and both dried and fresh basil. Rinse out the tomato cans with the water and pour this into the saucepan. Turn up the heat, cover and bring the sauce up to a boil, stirring and checking it frequently. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to low and let it simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Taste for salt at the end of cooking and add more if needed.

Preheat oven to 375*

Assembling the Lasagna

Coat the bottom of your lasagna pan with some meat sauce. Layer the lasagna noodles side by side in a single layer.You may need to snap off the ends on a couple of noodles to fit the pan. Spread meat sauce over the noodles to cover. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese and one-third of the mozzarella. Repeat, layering the noodles, meat sauce and cheeses two more times. If you are running low on meat sauce for the last layer, just add some water to your sauce.

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Cover loosely with aluminum and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

lasagna

Let stand 1/2 hour before serving.

Serve and enjoy!!!

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