Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Grilled Shrimp, Spinach and Pinenuts

Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Grilled Shrimp, Spinach and Pinenuts

I have some leftover mascarpone from yesterday’s Tomato and Watermelon Salad and started exploring other things I could do with it.   I came across this dish from The Kitchn and am inspired.  It’s almost too simple, but then it doesn’t have to be hard to be delicious!

Mascarpone is soft and creamy, much like Ricotta, but smoother and creamier.  It starts from fresh cream instead of milk, then it’s acidified with tartaric acid, and the whey is strained off leaving this oh, so creamy goodness behind. It’s starring role in delicious tiramisu typecasts it a bit, but it has a lot of uses in sauces and other desserts calling for heavy cream, sour cream or cream cheese.  This is definitely an ingredient I’ll use in small portions because of it high saturated fat content.  Adding a lean protein like chicken or shrimp produces a more balanced main dish.

I made the following changes to the original recipe:  1) used angel hair whole grain pasta instead of enriched flour pasta (because that’s what I had on hand!), 2) used regular lemons as I didn’t have Meyer lemons, 3) reduced the amount of mascarpone to 2 ounces which made it a little less creamy, (but that’s less fat and it still tastes fabulous!), 4) added lemon grilled shrimp for more protein/flavor and 5) switched to pine nuts since I had some toasted in my freezer.  OK, that’s a whole new recipe, but that’s the fun of creating in the kitchen.  I think you’ll love this version.!

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