romesco garlic shrimp with zucchini noodles

Serves 2

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

  • 4 medium zucchini (about 4 cups of “noodles”)
  • 2 tablespoons cooking fat
  • ¼ onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • Romesco Sauce

You can save yourself 25 minutes of prep time and make your Romesco Sauce up to two days in advance. This dish is just as delicious served cold, substituting Pesto for the Romesco Sauce, and cold cucumber noodles instead of steamed zoodles. You can also cheat and buy cooked shrimp—just skip the ¼ cup water and covered cooking at the end of the third step.

Peel the zucchini with a regular peeler. Then, using a julienne peeler, make long slices along one side of each zucchini until you get down to the seeded core. Rotate the zucchini and continue to peel until you’ve done all four sides. (If you have a spiral slicer, you can use that instead of a julienne peeler.) Discard the core, and set the noodles aside.

Add 2 cups of water to a large pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil while you begin cooking the shrimp.

Melt the cooking fat in a large skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. When the fat is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp, toss to coat with the onion and garlic, and cook stirring, for 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook until the shrimp form the shape of a “C,” 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl (draining any remaining water), and season with the salt and pepper.

After you add the water and cover the shrimp, place a colander or steamer inside the large pot of boiling water. Add the zucchini noodles, cover, and steam until the zucchini is al dente in texture, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the “zoodles” and transfer to a serving dish or individual plates.

Sprinkle the shrimp with the parsley, toss, and spoon over the zoodles. Spoon the Romesco Sauce over the shrimp and zucchini and serve.

✪Shrimp Shrimp are quite easy to prepare, but they get tougher the longer you cook them. Perfectly cooked shrimp will be pink in color, and shaped like a “C”—if they are curled up tightly into an “O” shape, they’re overcooked. If you’re using frozen shrimp, make sure they are completely thawed before you start cooking.