Pasta with Shrimp and Lemon Oil

Hello fellow bloggers and hungry law students!

Cooking has always been one of my favorite past times - unfortunately, the first two years of law school have really put a damper on my culinary practice. This is an easy recipe I make when I really want to eat something savory but don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. Enjoy!

Ingredients
For the lemon oil:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested

For the pasta:
1 pound linguine pasta or angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced [shallots really make this recipe; you can substitute onion but it changes the flavor of the dish]
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces frozen shrimp [I found that bigger shrimp works best for this recipe. You should cook the shrimp until it becomes pink and remove it from the stovetop - overcooked shrimp becomes rubbery and unsavory]
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces arugula (about 3 packed cups) [trust me on this - it really adds to the dish]
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
For the lemon oil:

Combine the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl and reserve.

For the pasta:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm
to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking
liquid. Do not rinse the pasta!

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook
for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked linguine or angel hair, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Turn off the heat and add the arugula. Using a mesh sieve,
strain the lemon zest out of the reserved lemon olive oil and add the oil to the pasta. The zest can be
discarded. Add some of the cooking water to desired consistency [this helps the texture of the pasta]. Add the chopped parsley to the pasta and toss to combine.

Serve immediately.