Every week, when I grocery shop — well, I grocery shop almost every day, but I do a big grocery shop at least once a week.
Anyway, on that “big shop,” I always pick up the “staple” proteins (eggs, quinoa, chicken, shrimp and salmon.)
I usually buy my shrimp frozen, unless I know I’m going to be making it that night or the next for dinner.
I have a point, I promise.
More often than not, I buy the frozen kind. Then, it sits in my freezer forever. I always forget about it.
I don’t cook much with my freezer – I’m always cooking and having leftovers that if I froze anything, it would pile up immensely and I’d have to purchase a walk-in freezer.
Usually, I give leftovers to the doormen or I save them for Lu and me that night.
Long story short, I usually forget I have shrimp in the freezer and so, I never cook with it. But, I love shrimp! It’s seriously one of the most underrated proteins.
Shrimp are easy (and quick!) to cook, they’re relatively inexpensive and they absorb flavors really well, so it’s always a flavorful seafood.
In an effort to use my pantry and my freezer, I came up with today’s delicious recipe. Not only does it have the flavors from the cooked shrimp, but it has the subtle nuttiness of the sautéed parsnip and the freshness from the lemon-basil cashew cream.
In the summer, I’d switch this up by using zucchini noodles – the cashew cream would be lovely over zucchini noodles, especially with the lemon.
The parsnips really absorb the lemon-basil cashew cream sauce, so if you’re saving this as leftovers for the next day, you may want to save an extra couple tablespoons of the sauce to pour on top.
Okay, now back to check the freezer and see what else I can muster up.
Do you save a lot of meals in the freezer?
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Parsnip Noodles with Lemon-Basil Cashew Cream Sauce and Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- olive oil cooking spray
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large parsnips peeled, Blade C, noodle trimmed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 medium shrimps defrosted, deshelled, deviened
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 half lemon for spritzing
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to garnish
- For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked for at least 2 hours in water
- zest and juice from ½ lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large basil leaf
- 6 tablespoons chicken broth
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and coat lightly with cooking spray. Once heated, add in the garlic and shallot and cook for 2 minutes or until shallots soften. Pour the mixture into a food processor or high-speed small blender, along with the pre-soaked cashews, chicken broth, salt and pepper, basil and lemon zest and juice. Pulse until creamy and set aside.
- Place the large skillet back over medium heat and add in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the parsnip noodles and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes or until cooked to al dente. Once done, pour over the cashew sauce and let cook for 1-2 minutes or until warmed.
- Meanwhile, on another burner, set over another large skillet and add in the rest of the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the shrimp and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, tossing to coat both sides. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and then cook another 2 minutes or until shrimp is opaque. Once done, spritz with lemon and remove from heat.
- Assemble the pasta: divide the parsnip noodles into two bowls, top with shrimp and garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
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