Observer Food Monthly's 20 best recipesPastaRecipe for prawns, peas and pasta by Nigel Slater
Go for sustainable prawns in this lunchtime treat
A plate of hot, plump prawns with melted butter and dill is a good, if rather expensive, summer lunch. I bring it down to earth with a little pasta to add body, and peas simply for their affinity with the shellfish. I suggest you ignore the large tiger prawns which are often tough and rarely sustainable, and head instead for chubby, shelled raw prawns, although I have a fancy to try this made with tiny brown shrimps, too.
Serves 2-3
cavatelli 250g, or other small pasta
peas 150g (podded weight)
raw prawns 400g large, shelled
butter 60g
olive oil 2 tbsp
dill a good handful, chopped
Bring a deep pan of water to the boil and salt it generously. Add the pasta, cook for about 9 minutes until al dente, then drain.
While the pasta is cooking, roughly chop the peas.
Cut the prawns in half down their backs. Melt the butter in a shallow pan, add the oil and then the prawns, letting them cook for 2 minutes till they curl and turn opaque.
Finely chop the dill fronds. Add the chopped peas, a seasoning of salt and black pepper then continue cooking for a minute or two before adding the drained pasta and dill.
Nigel Slater is the Observer’s cookery writer
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