What to eat this weekend: Trofie pasta with prawns and homemade pesto

The addition of fresh prawns adds a touch of elegance and colour to this Ligurian pasta dish from the cookbook Festa: A Year of Italian Celebrations by Eileen Dunne Crescenzi.

Trofie con pesto e gamberi
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 500g trofie or casarecce pasta
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 500g prawns, washed and shelled
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
• 100ml white wine

For the pesto

• 100g fresh basil leaves
• 100g freshly grated Parmigiano
• 50g pine nuts
• 30 peeled almonds
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Blitz the basil, Parmigiano, pine nuts, almonds and garlic in a blender with half the oil.
2. Gradually incorporate the rest of the oil until you obtain a smooth consistency.
3. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente or according to the packet instructions. Drain well.
4. Pour the pesto and 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil into a large serving bowl. Whisk together to create an emulsion.
5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a low heat.
6. Sauté the prawns and garlic for about 1 minute, just until the garlic is fragrant but not browned. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon.
7. Add the wine and increase the heat momentarily to cook off the alcohol, then cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the drained pasta to the serving bowl with the pesto and mix together until all the pasta is coated with the pesto. Fold in the prawns and serve immediately.

Festa A Year of Italian Celebrations by Eileen Dunne Crescenzi from Gill Books