Just like Pizza, I had thought pasta had gone out of my life too. But if you read my last post, you must have seen how I made ‘cauliflower pizza‘ and also a red tomato free sauce to spread over it? Well that sauce was dynamite guys …I should probably bottle it and sell it:) Seriously, It’s so good! So ever since making that sauce, I have wanted to make a ‘pasta dish’ using this sauce. And thus this ‘Paleo shrimp linguini’ was born! Yummy yummy yum!
As for the linguini, that was easy. Spaghetti Squash to the rescue! Oh boy ever since I discovered how to cook this vegetable in the Instant Pot, it has made life so much easier! First of all, this is a vegetable that is so nutritious – It is not only low in carbohydrates but is also rich in antioxidants, such as vitamins A and C, B-vitamins, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and essential minerals. It also contains the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, and has potent antimicrobial properties. It is a guiltless treat and definitely a better choice than your regular pasta1. Second of all, it does not have a strong flavor of its own and perfectly soaks up sauces and curries! And last but not least, it is so cheap! I can make at least 4 meals out of one spaghetti squash! Isn’t that an awesome thing considering that leading a Paleo lifestyle is in general a tad heavy on the budget?.
Oh wait, there is one more benefit. You can cook the spaghetti squash in the beginning of the week , create individual meal portions and freeze them. How convenient! You can see my earlier spaghetti squash recipe to see how to cook it in the Instant Pot.
OK hopefully you don’t need any more convincing about the multitude of benefits of this humble vegetable. And so to this pasta recipe. The tomato free sauce as I shared in my earlier pizza post is made from pumpkin, cranberries and cherries. No beets. Not that I don’t like beets but I have tried other ‘nomato’ or tomato free sauces with beets in them and somehow that didn’t do it for me – the beet taste was overpowering. So I tried many different combinations of the above three before I felt like ‘this was it’!
So once you have this sauce ready, pull your cooked spaghetti squash out from the freezer or cook it the same day, and then cook some shrimp with some spinach and then toss everything together! So easy and so, so delicious! That’s the best kind of delicious, right? 🙂
Sharing this delicious Shrimp Linguini at the Paleo AIP recipe Roundtable hosted by Phoenix Helix.
Before jumping to the recipe, here’s how you would go about Cooking spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot:
Cut the spaghetti squash in half cross-wise. Pour about 1 cup of water in the insert pot and place the steamer rack in it. Place the spaghetti squash in the insert pot on top of the steamer rack and then pressure cook for 7 mins. Then release the pressure quickly to prevent overcooking. This method gives out perfectly textured ‘noodles’ or ‘linguini’ every time!
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup frozen cranberries
- 1 cherry frozen pitted
- ¼ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ tsp red chilli pow / cayenne pepper (omit for AIP)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cumin or cumin powder (omit for AIP)
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (omit for AIP)
- 8-10 medium raw shrimp, de-veined and de-shelled
- pinch sea salt
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
- About ½ cup of tomato free pasta sauce
- Heat a frying pan and add olive oil. Add the cranberries, cherry, onions and the garlic and stir fry for 3-4 mins on low heat until the onions are cooked thru. Add red chilli and cumin if adding, and salt. Stir for 30 secs. Transfer mixture to a food processor, add the pumpkin puree and vinegar and water. Blend till smooth! You can store this in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Cook the spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot (see instructions above the recipe) or in an oven (Cut in half, scoop out the seeds and bake skin side up for 45-50 mins at 400 deg F)
- Heat a frying pan and add the olive oil. Turn heat to low and add the chopped garlic, parsley and oregano. Immediately add the shrimp, the salt and the spinach. Saute everything for 3-4 mins until the shrimp are cooked and no longer pink. Turn heat off.
- In a serving plate, spread the spaghetti squash to make a bed. Pour the tomato sauce over the squash and then place the shrimp and sautéed spinach on top!
