Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta | Gimme Some Oven

Easy40 minsQuick

This Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta recipe is quick and easy to make, loaded up with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and basil and shrimp, and tossed in a heavenly creamy garlic sauce. Delicious!!

This past weekend, I spent the entire day on Saturday doing a mega-blast of spring cleaning around my loft, in hopes of getting the place all nice and ready for Barclay to move in next week.

And by spring cleaning, I mean spring cleaning out so much stuff. ?

Good grief. I felt like I had made so much progress these past few years with simplifying and minimizing my little home. But somehow, more and more things seem to have crept in here…especially into my closets and pantry, which I realized were somehow packed to the brim. I mean — let’s be real — I like to pride myself on being an expert packer, finding the perfect little organized spot for everything. But I was reminded this weekend that the flipside of that fact is that I am an expert packer, and have found the perfect little spot for a few too many things, ha.

So this weekend, I did yet another round of major minimizing, which resulted in a car full of donations to Goodwill. And by the end of the day, I’m happy to report that it also resulted in some happily half-empty closets, all ready for some handsome clothes and all sorts of other boy-stuff to move in. Can’t wait!!

I also did a major round of organizing and minimizing with my pantry, making room for some of Barclay’s Costco-sized bags of oatmeal squares and espresso beans and pistachios to move in. And in the process, I discovered that I had somehow stocked up on a ridiculous amount of pasta over the past few months. So heads up, there may be some extra pasta recipes comin’ your way soon, beginning with this ultra-comforting Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta. ?

I ended up making this for dinner over the weekend as a clean-out-the-pantry meal, especially after discovering a few jars of sun-dried tomatoes were also hiding away in my pantry. And oh my goodness — it was a major winner.

Barclay and I love just about anything “Florentine”. And all the better if some extra cream is involved in that garlicky sauce (our little reward after a hard day’s work!), and a handful of sauteéd shrimp are mixed in at the end…

…and of course, lots of extra Parmesan is sprinkled on top.

This meal was comfort food through and through, and it totally hit the spot. Can’t wait to make it again once this soon-to-be-husband of mine actually lives here! ?

Yield: 6-8 servings

Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta

This Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta recipe is quick and easy to make, full of great flavor, and oh-so-creamy and comforting and delicious.

Total Time:40 mins

Prep Time:15 mins

Cook Time:25 mins

Ingredients:

Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta Ingredients:

• 12 ounces uncooked pasta (I used penne)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• 1 pound raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1 batch Creamy Parmesan Sauce (see below)
• 2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh basil leaves
• lots of freshly-grated Parmesan

Creamy Parmesan Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely-minced
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup warmed milk
• 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• optional: 1/2 cup half-and-half

Directions:

To Make The Creamy Shrimp Florentine Pasta:

1. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, in a large stock pot of generously-salted water. Drain, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a separate large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper on both sides. Then add the shrimp to the pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes, turning once, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. (Cooking time will vary on the size of your shrimp.) Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a clean plate, and set aside.
3. Use the same sauté pan to prepare your Creamy Parmesan Sauce.
4. Once the pasta and creamy sauce are finished cooking and ready to go, combine them in the large stock pot. Add in the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and toss together until everything is evenly coated with the sauce.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan cheese.

To Make The Creamy Parmesan Sauce:

1. Heat olive oil (or melt butter) in the large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle evenly with the flour, and stir to combine. Sauté for an additional minute so that the flour can cook, stirring occasionally.
2. Then slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk, and bring to a simmer for 1 minute, or until the sauce has thickened a bit. Add in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and stir until the cheese has melted. If you’d like a creamier sauce (which is delicious), stir in the half and half as well.
3. Remove from heat and use/serve immediately.

Difficulty: EasyCategory: Quick

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