Who else is a fellow pasta lover?  One of my favorite thrown together meals is my version of a pasta primavera with shrimp, veggies (anything like fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, sweet peas, zucchini, sugar snap peas or spinach will do), garlic, bacon, basil and a healthy dose of olive oil and parmesan cheese (or feta cheese).  I blogged about this go-to recipe a year or so ago, and just recently I came up with a new take on this easy yet filling meal!  I subbed zoodles (zucchini noodles) and sweet potato noodles for the pasta, and instead just cooked everything in one cast iron skillet.  You could hardly tell the difference, and my not-so-crazy-about-vegetables husband even really enjoyed the meal! 

Zoodle and Sweet Potato Noodle Primavera with Shrimp

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There are lots of ways to make (or buy pre-made) vegetable noodles, but we use the spiralizer adaptor for our Kitchen Aid mixer.  It works so well and the “noodles” are so much fun to make!  For serving pasta we often use out plain white soup bowls that were on our wedding registry, which are only $20 for a set of 4.  We also have the large plates and salad plates and I like how simple they are.  Definitely recommend if you’re looking for nice white dinnerware that is affordable!  We also use our stainless steel bamboo flatware every meal and I love how they are a little more fun than just plain old forks, knives and spoons.  Ours are old from World Market but these are really similar!  The lemon ginger jar cloth napkins can be bought here, but I found them at my favorite shop in Beaufort, SC called Scout Southern Market.

I’m never all that great at measuring or keeping track of time, so here are the recipe “guidelines” for you.  You can refer to this old recipe of mine for slightly more thorough instructions!  It’s basically the same, just with veggie noodles instead of pasta.

• cook bacon in a cast iron skillet, remove crispy bacon from heat but keep the fat in the pan (we normally use pre-cooked bacon so it doesn’t render much fat.  Or I’ll just cook the bacon in the microwave on a paper towel.  If I do this I’ll use a little more olive oil or butter to cook the rest of the meal.)
• sauté sweet potato noodles in the bacon fat and some olive oil for a couple minutes (the sweet potato noodles need to cook a little longer than the zoodles)
• add zoodles to the skillet
• add garlic, shrimp (we used pre-cooked so it was just a matter of heating them up), and any additional vegetables to the pan.  I used diced sundried tomatoes and it was a delicious addition.  Cook until everything is heated through.
• season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, fresh basil and top with crumbled bacon, lots of grated parmesan cheese and some more olive oil

This really is one of those make-it-your-own kind of meal, so there is no wrong way to do it!  Just make sure to not overcook the veggie noodles.  You want them to keep their form and not get mushy!

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Katie Vail

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