PRAWN PASTA
This prawn pasta couldn’t be easier! A simple, quick meal that’s guaranteed to warm you up on a cold night.
Who can resist a creamy pasta?! I know I can’t. There’s plenty of the pesto-infused sauce to go around (I thought it made sense to use up the full tubs of cooking cream and pesto!), which means it’s great reheated too. Spiralli pasta is definitely the ideal pasta to use in this recipe.
For those of you that think a prawn pasta sounds disgusting, I have a few alternative suggestions! Diced chorizo and sundried tomatoes would be delicious, as would smoked chicken or a vegetarian option with mushrooms.
Also… if someone is hogging the microwave at work, or you just can’t wait to eat the leftovers, it actually tastes yum cold too. Just like a pasta salad.
PRAWN PASTA
This prawn pasta couldn’t be easier! A simple, quick meal that’s guaranteed to warm you up on a cold night. Also, who can resist a pesto cream sauce?!
Ingredients
PRAWN PASTA
- 3 zucchini
- 3 cloves garlic
- 400 g raw prawn cutlets (14oz)
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 300 g spiralli pasta (10.6oz)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp chicken or vegetable stock powder dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water (60ml)
- 250 ml light cooking cream (8.5fl.oz)
- 100 g basil pesto (3.5oz)
- 100 g baby spinach (3.5oz)
- 2 spring onions
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan (45g)
Instructions
PREP INGREDIENTS
Slice zucchini into rounds and crush garlic. Remove any tails from prawns, if you like.
MAKE SAUCE AND COOK PASTA
Heat oil in a large pot or frying pan on medium-high. Add zucchini and garlic and cook until zucchini is tender (2-3 minutes).
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until al dente.
While pasta cooks, add prawns to pan with the zucchini and stir fry until they turn pink (2-3 minutes). Add lemon zest, stock mixture, cream and pesto. Reduce heat to medium and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in spinach to wilt and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Thinly slice spring onions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta and add to sauce mixture together with a splash of pasta water. Stir until pasta is well coated.
SERVE
Divide pasta between warmed serving bowls. Top with parmesan cheese and spring onions.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: My pick would be a Pinot Gris.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Choose your favourite gluten-free pasta. Ensure stock powder and pesto are gluten-free.
INGREDIENT SWAPS / NOTES: I used Philadelphia Light Cooking Cream. If you can’t find this, lite cream cheese would be a great alternative (regular cream would work too). For a tomatoey version, try sundried tomato pesto instead.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store individual portions in airtight containers and reheat in the microwave. Alternatively, if you want to save half of the meal for another dinner, you could cook just half of the pasta and set aside half of the sauce before combining with the pasta. Cook the remaining pasta later on and gently reheat the sauce in a saucepan - your leftovers will taste much fresher (and saucier!).
ALSO ON THE MENU
