Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Squash

Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Squash – How I Ended Having it for the First Time

I don’t know why I haven’t included this recipe on my blog so far. Simply, this Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Squash has been on top of a list of my favourite kinds of pasta for a long time.

I must have had it for the first time five or six years ago in an excellent Italian restaurant close to our then home. We have been going there quite often, and – you know how it is – each of us almost always ordered the same food. And then, one autumn day, I noticed Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Squash on their special menu. So I decided to be adventures and give it a try.

The pasta was terrific: creamy, rich with a nice texture given by the prawns. I loved it, my family (who couldn’t resist to taste it) loved it too. Needless to say that from then on whenever I went to that restaurant when pumpkins were in season, I ordered this meal.

Creamy Shrimp Pasta – Why is it a Butternut Squash Pasta?

But when we moved, the restaurant was too far away to go there often. So I had no choice other than to try and cook this delicious pasta at home! The first time I made it, I used my favourite Hokkaido pumpkin. I often cook with it because of its taste and additional, convenient advantage: you don’t have to peel it. However, to my disappointment, it didn’t work. Hokkaido pumpkin overpowered this dish both in terms of appearance (very orange) and taste (sweet!). Butternut squash proved to be a much better choice for this Creamy Shrimp Pasta recipe.

When it comes to shrimps – a useful tip based on what I have noticed in a few restaurants. Instead of putting whole big prawns (which usually are quite expensive) into sauces, they cut them into smaller pieces (1 prawn cut into 3-4 parts). I must admit it is a bit cheeky for restaurants to do it. When they are cut, you don’t know how many shrimps you are getting for a specific, usually high, price. But if you are cooking at home and you are on a budget, it can be a quite smart move 😉