One of my favorite ingredients to jazz up a pasta recipe is mascarpone cheese. I love how creamy and flavorful this pasta dish becomes with all the ingredients coming together perfectly. They are simple ingredients with easy steps, yet the outcome is so delicately delicious with a beautiful presentation. This can be an easy recipe for a weeknight dinner or be used to impress a few friends for dinner night in. I don’t use tarragon much, but the impact it gives in the recipe married with the mascarpone cheese and shrimp is irresistible!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti

• 1 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 1 large shallot, minced

• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• Salt and pepper

• About 2 cups of chopped Roma tomatoes

• ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth

• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon leaves

• Big handful (packed cup) arugula or Tuscan kale, chopped

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature

Instructions:

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, add shallots, garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir and saute for about 2 minutes. Add shrimp to the pan, season with salt and pepper. Cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and cut into thirds about little bite-sized pieces, set aside.

2. Heat a pot of water to start boiling for spaghetti. Cook until al dente.

3. In the meantime, in that same pan from the shrimp, add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to soften.

4. Turn heat to high and add ½ cup of the broth to deglaze the pan and break up the bits on the pan. Let cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and add mascarpone, kale, tarragon, and shrimp. Stir until mixture is creamy, then add in the spaghetti and about ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve immediately.

We’d love to see your finished product! Post your picture on Instagram, tag us @danimade.kitchen and hashtag it #danimade