Spring Linguine

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

It's been a long, long, long week.

Long.

This was mainly down to one day where two car journeys, into and then out of, London Town totalling 12.4 miles took ..

Ready?

4 hours & 15 minutes.

At one point, the car didn’t budge for 45 minutes.

Gridlock.

Tube strike.

Thankfully, there was some entertaining radio to listen to during the tiresome trek.

Once home, something simple, tasty & quick to eat was compulsory as far as I was concerned.

Pasta. Pesto. Prawns.

For one 

125g Linguine

Handful Basil Leaves

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tbsp Pine Kernels

1 tbsp Parmesan Shaved or Grated

2 Cloves Garlic 

60g Raw Prawns

4/5 Asparagus Spears

Put the basil, olive oil, pine kernels, Parmesan, garlic and a pinch of salt into a food processor

Whizz briefly 

Cook your pasta 

Use a spatula to scrape the pesto into a frying pan & heat very gently

A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the asparagus to the simmering water

Turn the heat up on the pesto pan slightly & add the fresh prawns

They'll cook in a matter of moments after you have turned them once & they're pink

Drain the linguine & asparagus but be sure to leave a little cooking water in the saucepan

Add both to the prawn pesto & then stir & toss everything

You can add some of the pasta water to the pan for a creamier finish 

Before tucking in, I finished the dish off with a little extra Parmesan & black pepper.

After a tiring day it was the perfect solace supper. The colours & tastes of the dish also put me in mind of a burgeoning season.

AMM