Summer Shrimp Pasta

I already created one entry for the most recent Kitchen Play contest sponsored by Dreamfields pasta, but I decided to do another one. I was in the mood for pasta, so why not?

The deal with these contests is that you have to recreate/revise/riff on a recipe that another blogger created for the month's menu, using the sponsor's product.

Coincidentally, I recently did a review of Dreamfields pasta, so I had some on hand, If you want to read more about what I thought of it, check out my comments and my recipe.

The recipe I chose to riff off of was a clams casino summer pasta recipe. Fresh clams are a little hard to come by here in landlocked Colorado. Oh, I could probably hunt them down if I had to, but since the idea is to riff on a recipe, I decided that shrimp would be just fine.

Summer Shrimp Pasta

1/2 box Dreamfield's Pasta (whatever shape you like)
Olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned, quartered, cut in strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cleaned, quartered, cut in strips.
1 small zucchini cut lengthwise and sliced
1 medium tomato, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 lb. shrimp, cleaned (precooked or raw)
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat about a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the shallot, stir briefly, then add the peppers and zucchini. Cook, stirring as needed, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomato and salt, and cook briefly. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

When the pasta is just barely done, add it to the vegetables in the pan. NOTE: if you're using raw shrimp, add them BEFORE the pasta and let them cook a few moments. If you're using pre-cooked shrimp, add it AFTER you add the pasta.

Cooking, stirring as needed to combine the pasta and vegetables. If it seems to dry, add some of the pasta cooking water.

Take the pasta off the heat, add the lemon juice, stir, and serve. You can add a drizzle of good olive oil on top, if desired.