Ina's Garden - Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I was undecided whether should I try out this pasta meal. The first thing is, this is a fairly dry pasta, with no sauce, and my family loves lots of sauce with their pasta. But then, my kids love lemons, and it sounds really nice and refreshing, so I decided to give this a try. I'm glad I did!

Lovely young tender fresh garden chives, from my MIL's back yard.  I use this instead of parsley, as my kids are not particularly fond of parsley, but they love chives.

This is a light and wonderful pasta meal. I love the lemony taste, it is so refreshing and a break away from the regular cream-based and tomato-based sauce. For a slightly spicier kick, I would suggest to add on more of the hot chili flakes. Yummy!

In my house, there are preferences when it comes to pasta. My son loves the tomato-based sauce, my daughter loves the creamy-based sauce, my hubby loves any sauce as long as there are lots and lots of sauce, and myself, I love everything! But then, they would usually eat any sauce that I cooked, without complains, as they love pasta!

There was no leftovers! My son had second helpings, without a doubt, he certainly approves of this new pasta meal! 

This lovely pasta dish is linked to Ina's Garden, where the theme for this week is Pasta with Pizzazz, selected by Chaya of Bizzy B. Bakes. Visit Chaya's blog, to find out what's cooking up next at Ina's Garden.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi
(Recipe by Ina Garten, source from foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients :
vegetable oil
kosher salt
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2-1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

Directions :
Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.