Solicitor's Shrimp & Asparagus over Orzo

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup uncooked wheat orzo (small grain pasta)
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, cleaned (with 1 inch trimmed off bottom stalks)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fresh basil (or small handful), chopped
• 10 -12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut open, halved lengthwise (butterfly cut)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, or to taste (optional)
• 1/2 cup reserved hot pasta water
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese, softened at room temperature (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons iodized salt, for boiling pasta water
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

• Cook orzo in boiling salted water according to package instructions (do not overlook).
• While orzo is cooking, season cleaned shrimp with all dried seasonings and 2 tablespoonsolive oil (or use just enough oil to coat all shrimp).
• Clean trimmed asparagus and coat with dried seasonings and 1 tablespoon the olive oil (or enough to coat asparagus).
• Preheat outdoor grill and grill asparagus a few minutes turning several times until tender, and browned. Do not overlook or else asparagus can quickly burn on the outdoor grill. Remove from grill and set aside. Cut up cooked asparagus spears into 1 inch size pieces.
• Grill shrimp a few minutes on grill (or in grill pan on stove) just until shrimp cooked and turn pink (about 2 minutes per side). Remove from grill and set aside.
• Drain cooked orzo (and reserve approximately 1/4-1/2 cup hot pasta water).
• Add softened goat cheese, (if using), 1 tablespoon olive oil, fresh basil, reserved hot pasta water to hot drained orzo and toss lightly until goat cheese fully melts and turns into a sauce like consistency. Add asparagus pieces to pasta mixture and toss lightly. 
• Season pasta mixture with fresh ground black pepper, to taste. Add grated cheese (optional), to taste and toss pasta mixture again.
• Serve immediately. Yields approximately 2 servings.

Comments:  This is an updated version of shrimp and pasta recipes found in the original LegalEats cookbook. Over the years I have experimented with different sauces for this dish as well as various pastas and now often use wheat orzo in place of traditional linguine or penne since wheat orzo is a very quick cooking, small grain like pasta which uses much less boiling water than a pack of either linguine or penne pasta. And the wheat version of orzo is healthier than traditional white flour pasta. For a lighter version of this dish, just omit the goat cheese and replace with a few tablespoons of your favorite basil pesto sauce. However, the softened melted goat cheese adds a light silky texture to the sauce combined with the reserved hot pasta water and does not overpower the shrimp and asparagus.