Spaghetti with Prawns & Dill Butter

Do you ever have nights where you come home, throw your stuff on the counter, kick off your shoes, toss your keys somewhere that you hope you’ll remember come tomorrow morning, and think “god help me if I have to chop a single freakin’ thing for dinner tonight”? I do. I remember one particular day, like this, that my friend and I decided to just go out for dinner. When I asked what her now-husband would do for dinner, she looked at me as frankly as anyone could, and said “he can eat toast”. We’ve all been there. If I can’t substitute fresh minced garlic with the Garlic Oil that I have on standby—because some days, mincing garlic is even too much—or pulse everything that requires imprecise chopping in a mini-food processor, well, it’s not happening.

This recipe is perfect for those nights. There’s little to no knife work involved, and a truly scarce list of ingredients. That said, the flavor is not indicative of that, in part due to the compound butter. I keep a log of this Dill Compound butter in my freezer for nights when I just can’t be bothered, but virtually everything bothers me. I’ve often bought a bunch of dill from the grocery store for a recipe only to use a few t-spoons worth, leaving the rest to hang around in the fridge, begging to be used. Rather than composting it, I fold copious amounts of minced dill into soft butter that’s been beaten with extremely minimal amounts of lemon juice and zest, Dijon mustard, and a bit of salt—to keep dill the prominent flavor, and make the levels of other flavors more controllable. It’s a simple standby, but it doesn’t feel so, and when you’re desperate it comes in real handy. Rub some on a whole or jointed chicken before roasting, or used to finish a pan sauce with a bit of wine and more Dijon, spooned over shellfish in the vein of moules frites, used to baste a seared halibut filet—the list goes on. Obviously, you don’t have to wait for desperate times to use it, but I sleep better at night knowing it’s in my freezer when desperate measures are called for.

Here, the butter makes it way into this Spaghetti and Prawn dish. It might be a little pretentious to call them prawns rather than shrimp, but for this dish I prefer larger specimens—13-15 count, to be exact—and I cant quite bring myself to call these beasts “shrimp”. It’s so simple but tastes so great. The longest part is waiting for the pasta water to boil; after that it’s speedy sailing! The shrimp is quickly seared, before compound butter and pasta water are added in. The pasta is then tossed into the sauce, along with a squeeze of lemon juice and dinner is ready. Scale it up, scale it down—you’ll have more than enough butter. The final flourish of more dill is totally optional, and could be substituted with parsley, although if you don’t have either in the fridge or in the garden don’t bother.

Not only is this incredibly delicious, but when you can get dinner on the table almost instantly, it’s a handy recipe to have in your repertoire.

To stay up-to-date on more speedy recipes like this one, follow me on BLOGLOVIN’! DO IT!

Spaghetti with Prawns & Dill Butter

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Print Recipe

A great recipe to have up your sleeve for when dinner needs to be on the table in record time. Making use of a Dill Compound Butter brings tons of flavor without any work. If you're looking for speedy supper this is it!

• CoursesBasics & Standbys, Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
• CuisinesItalian... kind of

Servings	Prep Time
2	5 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes (including bringing pasta water to a boil)

Servings Prep Time 2 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes (including bringing pasta water to a boil)

Spaghetti with Prawns & Dill Butter Yum Print Recipe A great recipe to have up your sleeve for when dinner needs to be on the table in record time. Making use of a Dill Compound Butter brings tons of flavor without any work. If you're looking for speedy supper this is it! CoursesBasics & Standbys, Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish CuisinesItalian... kind of Servings Prep Time 2 5 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes (including bringing pasta water to a boil) Servings Prep Time 2 5 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes (including bringing pasta water to a boil)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces raw shrimp 13-15 count, or per preference (adjust cooking accordingly)
• 2 t-spoons olive oil
• 2 - 2-1/2 ounces Dill Compound Butter (recipe follows)
• 2 t-spoons fresh minced dill (optional)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed (about half a lemon, or to taste)
• 1/2 t-spoon kosher salt

Servings:

Instructions

1. Start by bringing a large pot of water, larger than you think you need, to a boil. Toss the shrimp with the olive oil and set aside. Cook the pasta per package instructions for a minute or two shy of al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large saute or enameled cast iron pan (I use my braiser pan) over medium heat so it's screaming hot. When the pasta has just 30 seconds left and is nearly al dente, drop the shrimp into the screaming hot pan in a single layer. Cook for just about minute, until they're coral-pink and lightly bronzed.
3. After the shrimps' minute in the pan, plop in the dill compound butter and flip the now coraled prawns over. Working quickly, take about 1/2 cup of the pasta water from the pasta pot and pour into the shrimp pan. Stir to combine before adding in the pasta itself. I just use a pasta spoon for such a small amount, rather than draining through a full on colander.
4. Turn the pan's heat to low and toss to combine for just a minute or two. Squeeze in the lemon juice, and toss once more before scattering with fresh minced dill (if using) and serve in warmed pasta bowls immediately.

Recipe Notes

• If you don't have fresh dill on hand don't worry about getting any; it would kind of defeat the purpose of the compound butter. If you do, however, have any parsley in the fridge or garden though, just sub that.

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