I love dishes that I can create in minutes, no fuss, only a few very good ingredients and a dish that doesn’t compromise on flavour. When you are a busy Mum, trying to juggle it all, dishes like this spaghetti con gamberetti e rucola (spaghetti with prawns & rocket) are just heaven sent.

This recipe comes from, ‘Jamie’s Italy’ and unlike his ’30 Minute Meals’ recipes, this one really does only take minutes to prep and make.

Its very strong on flavour, I used two dried chillies and it was just perfect for us as a family, if you prefer you can tone this down and use only one or add a couple more and really hot things up a bit. What is nice is the addiction of the lemon zest, giving you a lovely fresh hit in flavour.

Because this meal is so simple, it is perfect for a lovely quick family supper, but dressed up with a nice side of rocket, gorgeous home made focaccia and a really good bottle of white wine, would also make a really impressive lunch to serve to friends.

Buon appetito

 

 

 

 

 

455g dried spaghetti
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1–2 dried red chillies, crumbled
400g peeled raw prawns (if using frozen, thaw before using)
1 small wineglass of white wine
2 heaped tablespoons sun-dried tomato purée, or 6 sun-dried tomatoes blitzed in a blender
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 handfuls of rocket, roughly chopped

Cook your spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat 3 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and toss in the garlic and chilli.

As the garlic begins to colour, add the prawns and sauté them for a minute.

Add the white wine and the tomato purée and simmer for a couple of minutes.

When the pasta is ready, drain it in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Toss the spaghetti with the sauce, squeeze in the lemon juice, add half the chopped rocket, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if you want to loosen the sauce a bit, and correct the seasoning.

Divide between 4 plates and sprinkle with the grated lemon zest and the rest of the rocket leaves.

I served mine with http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2011/11/paul-hollywoods-focaccia.html