Spring Veggie Pasta (with shrimp!)

For the past few weeks, I've been enticing spring to come here to Kansas City. Come one dude, I'm using your vegetables... you should come for a nice, long visit.

And I do believe it's working.


Spring Veggie Pasta (with shrimp!)

1 sweet yellow onion or leek (rinsed and dried), diced
1 bunch asparagus, washed, dried, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 lb. carrots, pealed and diced (I used baby carrots)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 lb shrimp, pealed and deveined (with or without tails, up to you)
salt and pepper
olive oil
one box (12 or 16 oz) corn pasta
grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and, when ready, add corn pasta. Boil until done (usually one minute over the recommended cooking time). Drain pasta and rinse* with cool water.

While the water pot is heating up, in a large skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion (or leek), salt and pepper and cook 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, until translucent. Add asparagus, carrots and pepper and a little more salt and pepper and continue to saute another 5 minutes until veggies are bright in color. Push veggies to the edges of the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil to the center of the pan. Add shrimp (and a little salt and peper) and continue to cook shrimp and veggies, stirring often, until shrimp is done (about five minutes or so).

Once pasta is drained and rinsed, add to shrimp-veggie mixture after the shrimp is done cooking. Toss together, top with cheese and will spring to come visit you as well.

*Rinse: always, always, always rinse gluten-free pasta. In the event you aren't gluten-free and use regular wheat pasta do not rinse.