First boil water in a large pot and season it heavily with salt. Once the water comes to boil, add your pasta and boil them on medium flame until they become al dente i.e. soft but not too mushy and still having a bite to it.
Before draining the water out from pasta, reserve a cup of pasta boiling water. Then transfer the pasta to a colander to let all the water drain out.
Give a quick rinse to your pasta in running water and leave it in the colander to allow excess water to drip off.
Now to make the basil pesto with sun-dried tomatoes, add all the other ingredients to a blender - garlic, onion, toasted cashews, balsamic vinegar, dried oregano, red chilli flakes, fresh basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes with the oil.
Season them with salt and pepper. Now blend them to make a smooth pesto. Ensure there are no unbroken cashew pieces and everything is blended to make a smooth & velvety pesto. Your smooth & velvety basil pesto with sun-dried tomatoes is ready.
Transfer the basil pesto to an airtight jar and you can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the shrimps to the pan. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper powder.
Cook the shrimps for 2 minutes on medium flame, then flip them over and let the other side cook for another 2 minutes until the shrimps turn opaque. Take them out and set aside on a plate, do not overcook them.
Now in the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add about 4 tablespoons of prepared basil & sun-dried tomato pesto.
Using a spatula stir the pesto and let it saute just for a minute so that it warms up.
Now add the boiled pasta to the pan and also drizzle half a cup of reserved pasta water which makes it easier to mix the pasta with pesto.
Give a good stir using a spatula or tong so that each pasta gets evenly coated with pesto. The water that you had added will also get absorbed by the pasta.
Next add the cooked shrimps to the pan and give a good mix. You can check and adjust seasoning if needed at this stage.
Finally add the grated parmesan cheese and give a final mix. Allow the pasta to cook for 5 more minutes so that the cheese melts nicely.
Your shrimp pesto pasta is ready to serve! Serve it on individual pasta plates and sprinkle little more grated cheese on top! Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://flavorquotient.com/2024/11/shrimp-pesto-pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes/