pasta salad with shrimps

½ pound pasta
2 crowns broccoli, cut into florets
½ pound shrimps, peeled and deveined
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ pound cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1 handful of whole basil leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoons black pepper

For the citrus dressing
juice from 2 lemons
2 gloves garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, cook until tender. When the pasta is done, take the pasta out, and cook broccoli in the same pot for 3~4 minutes, then take broccoli out, put them in a big bowl with pasta.

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add the shrimps to the pan in one even layer, cook for 2 minutes, season with salt and black pepper, then cook and season the other side as well. Take the shrimps out and add to the bowl. Add the red onion slices, tomatoes halves, and basil leaves to the bowl, gently mix them together.

Put all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a small bowl, then whisk until well combined. Add the salad dressing to the pasta bowl, and toss gently to coat.

Tips:
1. I used to be afraid of using too much lemon juice when I was not as good at cooking as I am now. Now I love fresh lemon juice, aside from making great Margaritas, it adds a lot of flavor to cooking. So squeeze lemons well until you get all the juices out, don’t just use a few drops.

2. It’s very easy to make salad dressing. Learn at least one recipe, such as this, then you don’t need to buy bottled dressing any more.

3. This is a great potluck dish, I made this dish for the Easter Egg Hunt party and got great feedbacks. It’s so colorful and tasty in room temperature.