Colorful Shrimp Pasta Salad

shrimp salad

This shrimp pasta salad has all the components of spring, it has bright colors and it’s light and fresh. This salad can be a stand alone lunch, a light dinner or the perfect side dish to have for spring and summer cookouts.

Colorful spring vegetables are incorporated into this salad and finished off with a creamy lemon dressing that clings to every bite.

farfalle pasta

This pasta salad looks pretty made with rainbow colored pasta, there are so many shapes and sizes available today and the different colors add to the vibrancy of the dish. You definitely want to choose ones that are healthy, the ones that are actually colored with natural foods, things like carrot, beet root, tumeric and spinach  which will also enhance the flavor as well.

I would encourage you to seek them out, I found this cute farfalle shape but again there are so many more!

 

grilled shrimp

You can poach the shrimp, roast the shrimp or grill it, either way will work, just have it done ahead of time.

spring pasta salad

Now that winter is behind us it’s time to tuck those comfort foods away and to brighten things up and this pasta salad is just the thing!

Colorful Shrimp Pasta Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • ½. lb. cooked shrimp, roasted, grilled or poached, cooled down
  • ½ lb. colored pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed cold. Pat dry so no wetness sticks to the pasta
  • 1 lb of fresh asparagus, cut in half and blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water then plunged into ice water, then patted dry of water.
  • ½ cup of peas, if fresh pre-cook, if frozen, defrost
  • ½ of a red pepper and ½ yellow pepper, diced
  • ¼ red onion, small dice
  • 3 radishes, sliced thin
  • ½ of english cucumber, sliced thin
  • hand full or arugula or chopped romaine lettuce
  • tablespoon each of chopped parsley and chopped basil
  • LEMON CREAM DRESSING
  • 1 part fresh lemon juice
  • 3 parts olive oil
  • 1 small dollop of Dijon
  • 2 or 3 small chopped garlic cloves
  • 2 Tablespoons of full fat mayo
Instructions
  1. Add all the dressing components into a jar and whisk it up together. ( You'll have extra) set aside.
  2. Take all your components, the cooked pasta, shrimp, asparagus, peas, chopped peppers, onions, radishes, parsley, basil, arugula or romaine and place them into a nice big bowl.
  3. Toss gently together, evenly dispersed, then spoon in your lemon dressing, taste as you go adding salt and pepper, more herbs if you like.
  4. Be careful not to overload the dressing so as not to make it soggy.
  5. Place pasta salad into a nice platter and serve!

 

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Sombrero Shaped Pasta Multi Colored and Stuffed

sombrero shaped pasta

Sometimes you just want to switch it up and try something different, that was the case with these sombreroni, they’re a sombrero shaped, multi colored pasta that I discovered while wandering into a specialty pasta shop, something I have never attempted to make.

 

sombrero shaped pasta

As soon as I picked up the bag I knew I was buying it, true artisan quality, made in Puglia Italy and the rainbow colors are made from all natural ingredients like beetroot, paprika, spinach and tumeric.

 

sombrero shaped pasta

Basically you treat these just like ravioli, you can stuff the hats with your favorite fillings, the round disks will then be placed on the bottom to seal everything inside.

sombrero shaped pasta

Both the hats and disks get boiled together for only 4 minutes, then scooped out gently, drained and rinsed with cold water to stop the cooking.

sombrero shaped pasta

Place the drained pasta onto a clean kitchen towel, let them dry a bit and then they’re ready to stuff. I used ricotta, basil, parsley, pecorino, mozzarella and an egg for my filling, but the possibilities are endless, just use your favorite ravioli filling.

You’re going to flip the hat over, pointy tip side down and stuff it to the top with your filling, then place the round disk on the bottom to seal it up, then flip it over gently and place it right side up into your baking dish with some sauce to cover the bottom.

I used a marinara sauce and mixed in a little cream for a tomato cream version but plain marinara or even a white bechamel would work just as well.

sombrero shaped pasta

At this point when your baking dish is filled it’s time to cover it completely with foil and place into a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

You might want to pull it out after 25 minutes and add a little sauce on the tips of the hats to help soften it. Other than that that’s all there is to it!

sombrero shaped pasta

Serve them in a little pool of sauce, drizzle a little on the cooked hats and add a sprinkling of grated cheese all over.

I’m happy to say that they kept their shape, the color was still vibrant and didn’t fade and not a bit of the filling seeped out!

sombrero shaped pasta

A fun presentation when you want to change it up a bit and wow your guests, they’re so delicious and unique.

I hope you seek them out and put your own special twist on them!

Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week. 

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