I noticed, that I was lacking of a pasta dish on my blog. And been italian, I really need to catch up, don’t you think?? So let me share with you a fancy version, that is still terribly easy and incredibly quick! You can serve this dish quicker than the pizza guy will deliver you your order. Ready?
Grab the ingredients, serving 4:
250 g of tagliatelle or tagliolini (alternatively 360g of normal pasta)
200 ml of (cooking) cream
1 tablespoon of butter
Juice of 1 lemon and zest of half of it
12-16 prawns, clean (or switch with shrimps, but then take about 200 g)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive
1 clove of garlic
thyme and oregano (fresh if you have them, otherwise dried)
salt and pepper
Put around 3 -3,5 liter of water in the saucepan and bring it to a boil, then salt.
While the water comes to a boil, prepare the sauce:
Take a wok or a big pan (we are going to pour all the cooked pasta in there when it’s cooked), put 1 tablespoon of butter and melt on medium heat.
Once melted add the lemon zest (remember to zest the lemon BEFORE cutting it, as it is way easier! and only use organic lemons that are specifically good for using the zest).
Then add the lemon juice (possibly without seeds, so use a small strainer, or your hands to catch them) and a pinch of salt.
Let it cook for a couple of minutes, then add the cream (200 ml) and stir well on medium heat for 2 minutes, then turn it off.
Add a teaspoon of thyme and one of oregano.
Let’s move on to the prawns:
Take a non sticking pan, pour 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in it and turn the flame to medium-high.
Add the garlic clove peeled and slightly pressed (with the back of a knife, just make some pressure on it as to help it release its flavor).
Add a teaspoon of thyme and one of oregano.
When the oil is hot, add the prawns, de-shelved and clean (if you washed them, dry them on a paper towel, this way you won’t get splashed with hot oil).
Cook them on high flame until golden, turning them avery now and then, takes about 5 minutes.
Turn off and set aside.
When the salted water boils, you can add the pasta. Check the cooking time on the package and stick to it (if you like al dente, reduce by 1-2 minutes).
Stir from time to time. When the cooking time is up, take a cup and pour some of the cooking water in it, set aside (careful, really hot!!).
Turn on the flame under the wok (with the lemon-cream sauce in it).
Drain the pasta and pour it in the wok with the sauce, stir as to allow the sauce to “marry” the pasta, add some cooking water (that you set aside in a cup) if it seems too dry, you only need a couple of minutes here, just to bring all the ingredients together.
Turn off.
Plate.
Add the prawns on top and garnish with some fresh thyme if you have it.
Enjoy!