Linguine with Lemon and Shrimp

I printed a bunch of recipes off of Williams-Sonoma's website last week, and this is the first of them we've tried. Joe and I both liked this dish, although I don't know if it's something I'll put in the regular rotation. The flavors are very simple; I even added some butter and Parmesan cheese directly to the linguine itself, and I still thought the outcome was a little bit bland. The dish could have used some something; I just can't put my finger on what that something is.

I loved the lemon flavor, which made the dish seem light despite of the heavy cream. Marinating shrimp was something I'd never done before, but I thought the marinade (a simple combination of lemon juice and chives) was very effective. This is definitely elegant enough to serve at a dinner party, yet simple enough to serve any night of the week! Now if only I could figure out what it was missing...


Linguine with Lemon and Shrimp
Source: Williams-Sonoma

2 lemons
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
2 tablespoon salt, plus more, to taste
1 pound linguine or fettuccine
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.

2. Grate 1 tablespoon of zest from the lemons (I used 1/2 tablespoon of zest, and I thought that amount was perfect) and squeeze 3 tablespoons of juice. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cream and lemon zest and heat until hot. Remove from the heat if the mixture begins to boil. In a small bowl, combine the shrimp, lemon juice and chives; set aside.

3. Add the 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions.

4. When the pasta is within about 3 minutes of being al dente, in a fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring, until they are opaque throughout, about 2 minutes. Add the warm cream to the pan and season the sauce with salt and white pepper.

5. Drain the pasta and add it to the fry pan. Toss the pasta to coat with the sauce and serve immediately.