This recipe grew out of sheer necessity. My son does not like any creamy sauces and loves shrimp. So this was a way of using what he likes to make this dish. He loves regular pesto but I won’t tell him if you don’t, that this is cashew pesto. It is delicious and super healthy. I have used this recipe for cashew pesto for pizzas Cashew Pesto Pizza, and puff pastry Cashew Pesto Salsa Twirls . It works equally well for pizzas, pastas, savory pastries and sandwich fillings.
Most of the work is done already with the cashew pesto so there is very little to do in the dish itself. You can use regular pesto, kale pesto or spinach pesto instead of cashew pesto.
COOK TIME: 15 mins
PREP TIME: 20 mins
YIELDS: 3
Ingredients
Cashew Pesto
- Basil 1 cup
- Parmesan ¼ cup
- Olive oil ¼ cup
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Cashews 3 tbsp
For Pesto: Blend together in a food processor 1 cup basil, ¼ cup parmesan, ¼ cup olive oil, salt, black pepper, juice of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp cashews. Blitz till you get a paste.
For Pasta
- Pasta ½ package (8 oz)
- Shrimp 8 oz
- Salt
- Turmeric 1 tbsp
- Cashew pesto ½ cup
- Garlic 1 tbsp
- Olive oil 4 tbsp
- Basil 1 tbsp, finely chopped
- Parmesan 3 tbsp, grated
Method
- Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain and keep aside.
- Rub salt and turmeric on the shrimp.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil. Sauté shrimp in the hot oil for a couple of minutes till it turns pink. Keep aside.
- In the same pan add 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté garlic. Add cashew pesto, cooked pasta and shrimp. Toss to combine.
- Put pasta on a plate. Drizzle olive oil and some chopped basil. Grate some fresh Parmesan and serve.
sarchakra 
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