Creamy Tuscan shrimp linguine is arguably one of the world’s easiest and tastiest recipes! Only a handful of ingredients and you have a delicious meal on the table in about 20 minutes.
Post sponsored by Thatchers.
I can’t believe it has taken me nearly six whole years before I shared this recipe for creamy Tuscan shrimp linguine! It is one of my all-time favourite easy meals and we eat it indecently often…
In fact it is such an easy recipe, that I felt it didn’t merit space on the blog, not until Thatchers asked me to come up with a dish that would pair with their delicious Katy single variety cider.
Thatchers is a family business that has been around for over a century. They started making cider back in 1904, passing their secrets of cider making from generation to generation.
Thatchers headquarters are at Myrtle Farm in Somerset, where William John Thatcher first made his apple cider. These days, Thatchers has some 500 acres of apple orchards in Somerset, using only the best apples for their premium ciders – traditional, craft and contemporary.
Thatchers Katy is a softly sparkling, medium dry, single variety cider pressed and bottled at Myrtle Farm using the eponymous apple variety. It is VERY drinkable, perfect for sipping on a summer afternoon, but also surprisingly delicious with food.
Matching cider and food can be quite a tricky business. Vintage cider, deep in both colour and flavour, is best suited to red meat dishes, roast chicken and comfort food like lasagne and meat pie.
Katy cider on the other hand is much lighter and pairs best with seafood dishes. It is especially delicious with this creamy Tuscan shrimp linguine, and I have even used a little in the dish itself.
Tuscan shrimp requires very few ingredients: garlic, shallot, butter, shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Despite the scant ingredients, it tastes incredibly delicious, especially with linguine tossed right in the sauce to absorb all the lovely flavours. I have opted NOT to add cheese in this recipe, shocking I know, but if you are a fan then a little grated Parmesan wouldn’t go amiss.
You could also vary the recipe and use salmon fillets instead of the shrimp or even chicken breast strips. If you have fussy children who regard sun-dried tomatoes with suspicion, you could replace these with bacon lardons. But I have to say, even though I am not normally a big sun-dried tomato fan and they certainly seem to have fallen from grace lately, they really work in this dish.
How to make creamy Tuscan shrimp linguine
Step 1. Heat a little olive oil in a large casserole dish and cook the garlic over medium-low heat. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes, only until they start turning pink. Use a slotted spoon to set the shrimp aside but don’t clean the pan.
Step 2. Add a splash of Katy cider to deglaze the pan and then add some unsalted butter. Simmer until butter starts to foam and then add the shallot. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until it softens.
Step 3. Add the diced sun-dried tomatoes and cook for a minute before adding the cream. Stir in the shrimp and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat – be warned that if the heat is too high the cream will separate.
Step 4. Add a large handful of spinach and cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach wilts. Stir in the cooked pasta, tossing to coat in the sauce. Add a little lemon zest, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with a glass of cider.
Take a look at the recipe video for Tuscan shrimp linguine to see how its done.
Love pasta? Try one of these recipes
- Super easy one-pot crab pasta – ready in 15 minutes!
- Cheesy sausage and pasta bake
- Greek orzo pasta salad with tomatoes and feta
- Linguine in spicy chorizo tomato sauce
- Greek Pastitsio – mince and pasta bake with cheese sauce
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Creamy Tuscan shrimp linguine
Ingredients
- 450 g | 1 lb deveined raw shrimp
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- Splash cider or stock
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 100 g | 3 1/2 oz sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 300 ml | 1 1/2 cup single cream
- 2-3 large handfuls baby spinach
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 300 g | 10 1/2 oz dried linguine cooked till al dente
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp dry with kitchen paper, place in a bowl and add the salt, pepper and garlic granules. Stir to combine.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the garlic over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes.
- Add the shrimp and stir for 2 minutes until the shrimp turns pink. Use a large slotted spoon to remove from the pan.
- Add a splash of cider or stock to deglaze the pan, scraping any browned bits with a wooden spoon.
- Add the butter and melt over medium heat. Sauté the shallot for 5 minutes and then add the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for a further 2 minutes then lower the heat.
- Stir in the cream, add the shrimp and bring to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Add the spinach, stirring it in until it wilts.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the cooked pasta so that it is coated in the sauce.
- Add the lemon zest and chopped parsley and serve immediately.
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Karen quiroz says
What type of cream?
Lucy Parissi says
You can use single cream or double (heavy cream) the sauce will be a bit richer with the heavy cream
Nicole says
How much butter do you use? In the pictures you write “some” and it’s completely missing from the recipe ingredient list.
Lucy Parissi says
About a tablespoon – thanks for spotting that
Carolyn says
I love Tuscan recipe, I never get tired of that sauce!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
I love that you added cider in the recipe. I need to try that.