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Home Recipes From the Show Fresh Lingueine with Garlic Prawns and Homemade Pesto

Fresh Lingueine with Garlic Prawns and Homemade Pesto 23/11/2009

Serves 4

Description:

Fresh Lingueine with Garlic Prawns and Homemade Pesto.

Ingredients:

Pesto:
* 1½ cups (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
* ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
* ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
* Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Linguine:
* 12 cherry tomatoes on vine
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Salt & freshly ground black pepper
* 280 grams fresh linguine (from refrigerated section)
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 20 large prawns, peeled and deveined with tails intact.
* Parmesan shavings, for garnish.

Method:

To make pesto:
Grind the basil, pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese with a mortar and pestle until a smooth paste forms (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use a food processor instead). Slowly add the olive oil, grinding until a smooth sauce forms.

Preheat the oven to 220 C. Place the vine of tomatoes in an ovenproof frying pan. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the tomatoes, and sprinkle then with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 8 minutes, or until heated through.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high-heat. Add the linguine and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking, for about 2 minutes, or until al dente.

While the linguine cooks, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and prawns and sauté for about 3 minutes, or until the prawns are just cooked through and the garlic is tender. Stir the pesto into the prawn mixture.

Drain the linguine, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the linguine in a large bowl with the prawn-pesto mixture, adding enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten the sauce so that it coats the pasta evenly.

Using a two-pronged carving fork, swirl some pasta around the fork. Slide it off the fork, letting it mound in the centre of the plate. Repeat. Arrange the prawns and roasted tomatoes around the pasta. Garnish with the cheese and serve.

From: Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone.