Pasta with White Wine and Cream Sauce and Marinated Prawns

I’m a little too fat conscious to make this deliciously rich and creamy dish regularly (unusual for a cook I know) but now again it’s OK to indulge.  Sometimes when I can’t bring myself to use all that double cream, I add some tomato paste to single cream.  You end up with a different character to the dish but it is still very tasty.

The beans in this dish are optional, I only used them because we had a glut of beans and I was using them in everything, but they do add a nice texture.

Serves 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes   Cooking time:  20 minutes

Marinade:

1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp freshly ground white or black pepper
2 tsp olive oil

12 king prawns, peeled
180g linguine or thin spaghetti
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
Pinch crushed dried chillies or to taste
6 French beans, sliced (optional)
½ cup/125 ml white wine
½ cup double cream
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 thin slices peeled ginger, julienned

• Combine the marinade and prawns and set aside for about 15 minutes.

• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 9-10 minutes or until al dente (the Italians believe that water for cooking pasta should be as salty as sea water).

• While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a small pan and add the garlic, spring onion, chilli and beans (if using) and sauté for about 2 minutes.

• Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half.  Add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer, do not boil.  Add the lemon juice, season and keep warm.

• Heat a fry pan large enough to take the prawns in a single layer.  When hot add the prawns and cook, turning once for about 3 minutes each side.

• Meanwhile, drain pasta and return to hot pan.  Add half the cream sauce and stir to combine.  Allow the pasta to absorb the flavours of the sauce while you finish cooking the prawns.

• Swirl half of the pasta onto a fork and slip off onto a serving plate.  Repeat with the other half of the pasta.

• Drizzle over remaining sauce, top with prawns, sprinkle over parsley and ginger and serve immediately.