Sautéed shrimp, crisp bacon and creamy avocado-cilantro pesto combine with linguine to make a quick, easy and fabulously flavorful pasta dinner. Using a food processor makes short work of the pesto so the entire dish comes together in a little more than 30 minutes.
Linguine with Bacon, Shrimp and Avocado-Cilantro Pesto
This quick-to-fix pasta dish combines linguine, bacon and sautéed shrimp with a creamy pesto made from avocado, cilantro, lime and garlic.
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled (tails on) and deveined
- 12 ounces linguine
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from 2 limes
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 lime wedges
Instructions
- Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
- Combine the avocado, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, cilantro leaves, salt and a few grinds of black pepper in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy.
- Fry the bacon until crisp, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp and cook, turning frequently, until they turn bright pink and opaque, about 3 minutes total. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the linguine according to package directions and drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the pasta water to the pesto and process just long enough to combine.
- Place the linguine in a large bowl. Add reserved bacon and pesto and toss to combine thoroughly.
- Plate individual portions of the pasta and top each with shrimp. Serve immediately with wedges of fresh lime.
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