Sunday, May 3, 2009

Penne with Shrimp, Zucchini, and Tomatoes in Vodka Sauce

This dish kind of came about from what I had left in the freezer and refrigerator, and also changed direction as I was making it! Originally I thought I had enough vodka sauce left over to properly cover all of the pasta, but I was sorely mistaken. Luckily I had a can of diced tomatoes in the pantry to add to the mix.

We ended up liking this a lot though. Lots of great flavors, and don't be shy with the garlic and onion because that really adds a lot to the dish. If you don't like ricotta cheese, you can leave it out, but even Chuck, who doesn't like ricotta, agreed that it was quite tasty in here.

As usual when I am making my own creation, all ingredient amounts are approximate, so feel free to add more or less of any ingredient. Enjoy!

Penne with Shrimp, Zucchini, and Tomatoes in Vodka Sauce
from Colleen's Kitchen
Makes 3-4 servings

olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium zucchini, quartered vertically and cut into thick slices
kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
1 cup vodka sauce
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
8 ounces penne pasta
8 ounces (about 16-20) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onion, saute until just beginning to turn golden, 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to medium and add zucchini, season with salt and pepper. Continue to saute until onion and zucchini are cooked through, 3-5 minutes more. Add vodka sauce and diced tomatoes with juices, heat through.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add penne, cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add shrimp to pasta pot. Drain pasta and shrimp.

Add pasta and shrimp to zucchini and sauce mixture. Add ricotta and gently mix all until combined. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

this looks soooo good. I have almost everything to make this, so I just may have it for dinner tonight. P.S. Can't remember if I said it already, but congratulations on your baby-on-the-way! He or she will be very well fed...lucky little one! :)

Kerstin said...

We have pasta at least once a week and this looks really flavorful with the shrimp and zucchini - yum!

gaga said...

Can you believe I've never had penne in vodka sauce? It looks tasty!

Donna-FFW said...

Gosh, this certainly looks delicious for something you threw together.. Impressive.. sounds like a lovely dinner.

Rachel said...

Oh, how I would love a bowl of this right about now!

Dewi said...

What a delicious pasta Collen. Love the vodka sauce in there.

lisa said...

I made this tonight. YUM! My husband told me I outdid myself, since this is a "company" type meal and I made it for just us, lol. Thank you for the recipe--love the blog!!

Colleen said...

@ Lisa - So happy you liked this (especially since it's my own recipe, makes me even more proud!) I am glad your husband thought this was a "company meal" as well!

Thanks for visiting the blog and hope you keep reading!

Tiziana said...

I haven't tried making this but it sounds like a dish I had in Italy that my cousin made which was really yummy. You have some real tasty recipes on your blog!