Supper Club: 20-minute pesto prawn pasta

This recipe was created during an argument between my boys: Rocco wanted pasta with garlic, prawns and rocket leaves and Luci wanted pesto. Here we are – basil pesto prawn pasta.

It really works; we all absolutely loved it and I got to please both boys without turning my kitchen into a restaurant! Please make sure you only buy fresh basil to make the pesto as the flavour is so much better.

Farfalle al pesto Genovese e gamberi
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 60g basil leaves
• 50g pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 130ml extra virgin olive oil
• 30g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 150g cooked peeled large prawns
• 500g farfalle
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Bring 5 litres of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 1 tablespoon of fine salt. Put the basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Drizzle in the oil and blitz until smooth.
2. Transfer the basil mixture to a large serving bowl and fold in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and fold in the prawns. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. To get the al dente perfect bite, cook the pasta for 1 minute less than instructed on the packet and always keep the pan uncovered. A good-quality dried pasta will take 8-10 minutes to cook.
4. Just before the pasta is ready to be drained, remove 4 tablespoons of the boiling water from the pan and add to the bowl with the pesto mixture.
5. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and tip it into the bowl with the pesto mixture.
   Fold together for 30 seconds allowing the pesto to coat the pasta. Serve immediately.

Extracted from Pronto! Let’s Cook Italian in 20 Minutes by Gino D’Acampo (Kyle Books).