I came up with the accompanying recipe one Wednesday at about 7 p.m. while staring down a hungry family and a mostly empty refrigerator, and with minimal energy in my tank for cooking after a long workday. This pasta, in a lemony basil pesto studded with plump shrimp, wound up on the table about 20 minutes later that evening, and it turned out to be so delicious, it has been in regular rotation ever since.
It involves three main ingredients, each of which I almost always have on hand: shrimp, basil pesto (both in the freezer) and whole-grain spaghetti. I decided they would come together perfectly. While the water for the pasta came to a boil, I defrosted the shrimp in a colander under cool running water and barely warmed the pesto on the stove.
Because shrimp loves garlic and lemon so much, I doubled down on those flavor elements — both already in the pesto — by sauteing sliced garlic in olive oil before adding the shrimp, then squeezing in the remaining juice from my lemon. I stirred in the pesto and added a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes for a tingle of heat.
The pasta, done to nearly al dente, was tossed into the mix, to absorb the flavors and finish cooking. The meal, which included a simple salad, was ready before anyone could whine. Consider adding this to your own weeknight arsenal.