Radish and Shrimp Orzo Pasta with Lemon
Radish and Shrimp Orzo Pasta with Lemon (Shared by the Friesens)
Written by Leslie O’Neil
I’m always looking for new inspiration for dishes that use frequently asked about veggies like radishes. So, when someone takes an extra bunch of radishes from the trade basket instead of trading them out and casually mentions that they're using them for a family-favorite recipe, I’m obviously very intrigued... This particular family-favorite was generously shared with me by the Friesens after doubling up on radish bunches at Harvest Box pick-up.
This radish and shrimp orzo pasta with lemon is a great way to use not only the radish root but the greens as well which is a great way to reduce your food waste and increase your intake of nutritious greens!
{Featured image of leftover pasta from Jenna Friesen}
This is actually a dish inspired by two other recipes: Buttery Shrimp and Radish Pasta from Martha Stewart, and Lemon Pepper Shrimp Orzo from Kitchen Addiction. The secret is really the lemon juice - without it, the dish just isn’t nearly as good!
{Images of Buttery Shrimp and Radish Linguini from marthastewart.com and Lemon Pepper Shrimp Orzo from Jessica at A Kitchen Addiction}
Ingredients:
2 Cups cooked orzo or ¾ Pound cooked linguine noodles
Juice from 1-2 lemons (3-4 tablespoons in total)
Zest from 1-2 lemons
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 large bunch of radishes, roots washed and thinly sliced, greens washed and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined (thawed, if using frozen)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
This would be an excellent recipe to sub in your fresh garlic scapes for the garlic cloves. 1-2 full scapes chopped into ¼ inch pieces would be delicious cooked with the butter and shrimp!
{Images of easter egg radishes and their greens, parsley, and garlic scapes from @AmandaPhotographic}
Process:
- Prepare all your veggies - crush and chop your garlic (or garlic scapes) and set aside, zest and juice your lemons and set aside, chop parsley, radishes, and radish greens and set aside.
- Thaw your shrimp (if using frozen), peel and devein then pat dry.
- Mix together half the lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley (reserve some for garnish), salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Heat half your butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add your shrimp, lightly salt, and cook through until just opaque - you may brown the shrimp if you wish to build in another layer of flavor. Set shrimp aside.
- Cook your chosen pasta according to the package directions and reserve ~½ Cup of pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the rest of your butter in the same skillet you cooked the shrimp in over medium heat. Add your radishes and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the radishes are tender but still crisp. Add your radish greens, and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until they’re just wilted.
- Turn the heat to low and stir in your lemon juice and parsley mixture. Slowly add some pasta water until you reach your preferred consistency. Add more lemon juice if you wish.
- Add your cooked pasta and shrimp and gently fold into the sauce.
- Serve and top with reserved parsley to garnish.
I’m really excited to try this recipe myself - the Friesens love it so much it gets consumed before they have time to take pictures and rarely have leftovers. However those few leftovers look like an excellent next-day lunch to take to work to me! (See featured image above)
Adding any vegetable to a buttery, lemony pasta with shrimp and either fun little orzo pasta (that cooks quickly) or equally fun and slurpable linguine noodles is a great way to show kids of all ages that the veggies they see every day (like radishes) can be totally different and exciting.
{Image of Hakurei salad turnips from @AmandaPhotographic}
One great alternative to radishes -- Hakurei salad turnips! They're a bit sweeter than radishes and their greens are a bit more like mustard greens in flavor and with fewer hairs than radish greens. Plus, as many of our wonderful customers know, we see a lot of radishes and turnips in the spring and early summer here in Central Oregon and we all love finding new ways to transform these delicious and nutritious root veggies!