We discovered this pasta with shrimp & lemon-cream sauce when my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Sorrento, Italy. This part southern part of Italy is known for producing lemons. We had some amazing fresh limoncello, which is a liqueur. It’s refreshing served ice cold.

One evening while staying at the Imperial Hotel Tramontano http://www.hoteltramontano.com/en/, we asked the concierge to recommend a place to dine. A short walk from the hotel has become one of our favorite places to eat, L’Antica Trattoria  https://www.lanticatrattoria.com/newsite/en/.

A memorable meal in Sorrento, Italy

We started our meal with zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta cheese and ham. Tagliolini pasta with shrimp & lemon-cream sauce served in a large hollowed-out half of lemon was our memorable and amazing pasta course. We’ve dreamt of this meal since returning to the U.S. so I decided to surprise my wife by replicating the recipe for our anniversary. I think I came pretty close to the taste, however, I won’t be able to replicate the ambiance of sitting in a small restaurant on a quiet street in Sorrento, Italy. I guess we’ll have to go back again!

Here’s the recipe for an amazing pasta with shrimp & lemon-cream sauce if you want to try it. I substituted an angel-hair pasta as I couldn’t find tagliolini at our local market.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 3/4 lb pasta, tagliolini, or angel-hair works well
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh parsley chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Here’s what to do:

• Heat the olive oil in a saute pan big enough to hold all of the sauce
• Add the minced garlic and saute for a two to three minutes
• Start heating the water for the pasta
• Add the cream, stock, lemon juice, and zest to the garlic and oil and let heat for about five minutes
• Add the shrimp and parsley to the sauce for three to four minutes
• When you add the shrimp to the sauce, add the pasta to the boiling water in the other pot. That way, both will be done at the same time. It should only take three to four minutes.
• When draining the pasta, save a few spoons of the water to add to the sauce. This tends to help thicken the sauce a little.
• Add the pasta back to the pan and pour the sauce into the pan and stir. Heat briefly
• Transfer to plates, top with grated parmesan cheese, and serve

You and your guests will be amazed at this simple and delicious pasta dish!

You may also like this lasagna recipe with homemade sauce.