I made Gordon Ramsay's easy 10-minute pasta, and it's the perfect summer dinner when you're feeling lazy

Business Insider

5 days ago

I tried Gordon Ramsay's 10-minute scampi and angel hair pasta recipe.
The dish features shrimp, cherry tomatoes, lemon, and white wine — perfect summer flavors.
The cooking time was shorter than my skincare routine, but the flavors were complex and delicious.
Gordon Ramsay may have multiple Michelin stars, but he still loves whipping up simple dishes that require little time in the kitchen.
And Ramsay's quick pasta recipes haven't let me down yet. His 15-minute Bolognese has become one of my family's favorite dishes, and we also loved his 10-minute turkey and leek pasta, which Ramsay makes for his kids every week.
So, when I learned he had a 10-minute summer pasta recipe, I knew I had to try it.
This 10-minute scampi pasta by the "MasterChef" star looked perfect for summer.
Ramsay's shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta is featured in his cookbook " Ramsay in 10," which is full of recipes that can be made in 10 minutes.
When temperatures spike in the summertime, I never want to stand over a hot stove for too long, so a 10-minute pasta with some refreshing shrimp sounded like the perfect dish.
Ramsay's 10-minute pasta includes shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and a handful of basil.
To make Ramsay's shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta for two, you'll need:
8 ounces of angel hair pasta
5 ½ ounces of raw shrimp
2 banana shallots
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of small capers
1 lemon (zest and juice)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
¼ cup of white wine
¼ cup of vegetable or fish stock
A large handful of basil leaves
A pinch of chili flakes
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Ramsay says you can use any very fine pasta for this dish, including vermicelli, tagliolini, or spaghettini.
I should also note that I couldn't find banana shallots at my local supermarket. Since they're a bit larger than the regular variety, I just added an extra shallot while testing this recipe.
To get started, I brought a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
I made sure to season the water with salt.
I also got my prep out of the way.
Per Ramsay's instructions, I halved my cherry tomatoes, zested a lemon, minced my garlic, and peeled and sliced the shallots.
Don't throw away the rest of your lemon — you'll need its juice later on!
I also tried Ramsay's trick for chopping the basil.
"To chop the basil quickly, gather the small leaves and roll them up in the biggest leaf, like a cigar, then chop with a large knife," Ramsay writes in his cookbook.
It was time to get cooking, so I placed my nonstick pan over medium heat.
Then, I added the shallots and garlic.
I threw in the shallots first, seasoning them with salt and pepper.
After I added the garlic, I seasoned everything with a pinch of chili flakes and let the garlic and shallots cook together for two minutes.
Once the two minutes were up, I added the cherry tomatoes to the pan.
Then, I deglazed the pan with white wine.
Ramsay says you should allow the wine to bubble for 30 seconds.
Once those 30 seconds were up, I added the vegetable stock.
While the sauce was reducing, I prepped my shrimp.
I peeled the shrimp and seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Then, I added the capers and chopped basil to my sauce.
Per Ramsay's instructions, I then removed the pan from the heat.
I placed my shrimp in a nonstick frying pan over high heat, adding a drizzle of olive oil.
Ramsay says the shrimp should cook for about 30 seconds, until they turn golden brown. Keep an eye on the color — it took my shrimp about a minute.
I also threw my angel hair pasta into the pot of boiling water.
Once my shrimp had turned golden brown, I removed the pan from the heat and flipped each shrimp.
I drizzled olive oil and sprinkled lemon zest over the shrimp, then added them to my pan with the sauce.
I drained my cooked pasta and returned it to the pan where I had cooked the shrimp.
I added the pasta back to the pan of sauce.
I topped my finished pasta with Parmesan cheese, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some lemon zest.
The pasta smelled amazing, and I loved the bright pops of color — it looked like the perfect dinner for summer.
Ramsay's pasta tasted delicious, and I couldn't believe it had only taken 10 minutes.
There was a lovely lightness to Ramsay's 10-minute scampi that I always look for in a great summer dish. Even though the overall cooking time was shorter than my nightly skincare routine, the flavors were still complex and interesting. It tasted like an elevated version of Martha Stewart's famous one-pot pasta dish.
I should note that I found the angel hair to be a bit sticky and hard to mix, which means I probably overcooked it a little — so be careful when boiling your thin pasta. And next time, I'll add more chili flakes and tomatoes; they were my favorite part of the dish, and I loved their blistered texture.
I'll whip up Ramsay's 10-minute scampi again when I need something quick but delicious on a busy summer weeknight.