It's delicious classic comfort food fit for any day of the week! It's made with tender linguine pasta, savory shrimp, and both are tossed in a rich, vibrantly lemony, cream-based parmesan cheese sauce.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (with about 4 quarts water). Season water with salt and cook pasta to al dente according to directions listed on package. Before draining reserve 1 cup pasta water.
Meanwhile heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Dab shrimp dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper. Add to skillet in a single layer.
Let cook until pink on bottom, about 1 - 2 minutes. Add garlic, turn shrimp and continue to cook until cooked through (shrimp should be opaque).
Transfer shrimp to a sheet of foil and wrap loosely to keep warm.
In a medium saucepan heat cream along with lemon zest and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and let simmer until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes.
Add in butter and whisk until melted.
Remove cream mixture from heat, then stir in parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese has melted. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
In the skillet used to cook shrimp toss the drained linguine with sauce and lemon juice. Thin with pasta water as needed. Toss in shrimp.
Serve warm garnished with parsley if desired.
Notes
Shrimp usually loses some water weight, so while the package may say 1 1/4 lbs it's usually more like 1 lb. Same with frozen shrimp once thawed.