Garlic Prawn and Tomato Linguine

Directions

• Fill a large pan with boiling salted water and leave ready for the pasta
• Drain and pat dry the prawns and set aside ready to use.
• Slice the tomatoes in half and then slice or chop the garlic. Up to you which, although I do prefer to slice as it’s more rustic and tasty
• In a large frying pan, add a good glug of olive oil over a medium heat. Once it has heated, add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for about 2 minutes just to soften
• After 2 minutes, add the pasta to the water and cook al dente according to packet. If it’s De Cecco (you REALLY must use a good brand of pasta, it makes ALL the difference) I usually cook for around 11 minutes – so set a timer as everything will come together quickly. Move the pasta around with a fork to stop it from sticking
• Add the garlic to the fried tomatoes and fry for around 30 seconds or so just to get fragrant.
• Add the raw prawns and cook until they have gone almost completely pink. There will be more cooking time so don’t worry about cooking them through thoroughly at this stage or they will go tough. Around 2 or 3 minutes should do it, stir or flip occasionally.
• Once the prawns have almost cooked through, add the shrimp / baby prawns and cook for around a minute or so.
• Add the cream, mix everything in and set the heat to medium high to help the cream reduce and thicken a little. Around a minute before the pasta is ready, add the chopped parsley to the prawn and cream mixture and check for seasoning, adding more if necessary
• Once the pasta is cooked, turn the sauce heat down to low then using tongs transfer all of the linguine to the pan with the prawns. Don’t drain the pasta, just take it straight from the pan as you may need the water.
• Stir the pasta into the sauce and mix everything together over the low heat until the sauce and pasta is combined. The prawns will tend to stay around the edge, but that’s okay – you just want to try and combine the sauce as much as possible with the pasta. If the sauce looks too thick or stick – add a small ladle of pasta water to the sauce and continue to stir and cook down – it will thicken nicely and you should get a great consistency
• Serve in bowls and enjoy! You can sprinkle over some more chopped parsley or a grating of parmesan if you wish.