Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach, and Fried Egg

This simple any-night pasta dish is loaded with both nutrition and flavor. The highlights here are shrimp, spinach, and eggs—a little lemony sauce is all you need to brighten the flavor without making the dish overly saucy. Break that egg yolk on top and enjoy the extra creaminess it adds to finish the noodles just right.

Serves 4

Ingredients 

• 8 oz mini penne
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for frying eggs
• 1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp (22–24 count)
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 6 cups baby spinach leaves (or regular spinach, coarsely chopped)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs

Preparation

1. Cook the penne in salted, boiling water until al dente, 6-7 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the shrimp and shallot and sauté 3 minutes.
3. Add the spinach, chicken broth, and lemon zest and bring to a simmer, stirring until the spinach wilts, 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, lemon juice, and butter and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Shrimp Beginning to Cook

Spinach Mixture Added

Tomato Paste Mixture Added

1. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet and add oil to coat the bottom. Crack two eggs into the pan and fry until the eggs are set and beginning to crisp around the edges, turning once for over-easy. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining two eggs.
2. Add the drained pasta to the shrimp mixture and stir to combine. 

Eggs Ready to Turn

Pasta Added

Divide among 4 shallow bowls and top each with a fried egg. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper and serve right away.

Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach, and Fried Egg

Shrimp and Spinach Pasta

Sometimes the simplest pasta sauces are the tastiest. Briny shrimp and fresh lemon were made for each other, and lots of fresh spinach adds wonderfully earthy flavor—and a whole lot of nutrition—to the dish. I rounded out the sauce with just a hint of tomato, in the form of paste for a little thickening. Butter finishes it with a silky touch, and dinner is on the table in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

I used rotini here because the short spirals grab and hold a thinner sauce better than long noodles. Bowties or small shells would work too.

Tip: Lemon zest refers only to the yellow outer flesh of the fruit, not the white pith that separates it from the juicy flesh. And zesting is easy: Use a vegetable peeler very lightly to remove two or three thin strips, thin finely chop them. Done.

Peel the zest 

Finely chop

You may also like Calamari-Lemon Pasta or Linguine with Green-Heirloom Tomato Sauce.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz rotini
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp
• 1 large bunch spinach, coarsely chopped (about 8 packed cups)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Cook the rotini in salted, boiling water until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the shrimp and sauté 3 minutes.
3. Add the spinach, chicken broth, and lemon zest and bring to a simmer, stirring until the spinach wilts, 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, lemon juice, and butter and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Shrimp Beginning to Cook 

Spinach Added

Wilted Spinach 

Tomato Paste, Lemon Juice, and Butter Added

Add the drained pasta to the pan and stir to combine. Divide among 4 bowls and serve right away.

Shrimp and Spinach Pasta