Prawn & Rocket Linguine

This recipe comes from the Donna Hay "No Time to Cook" recipe book, which seems fitting for almost all stages of life!!! It truly doesn't take longer than 15 minutes to go from fridge to plate, which works if you're home from a long day at the office, rustling something up amongst all the paperwork at home or juggling kids, hubby, and puppy oh my! Donna Hay is a good Australian cook who makes real food that normal people want to cook! Everyone wants to eat the Michelin Starred meals, but does everyone want to cook them on a Thursday night... perhaps not. I noticed there is a new Donna Hay cookbook out now, so I'll have to procure that soon and give some new recipes a try, but this one is an oldie but a goodie. 

Ingredients

Linguine (I didn't have any, so used spaghetti instead)

Olive oil

Garlic cloves

Raw green prawns

Lemon zest

Chilli flakes

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Rocket leaves (arugula in the USA)

Lemon juice

Method:

1. Boil a pot of water and submerge pasta, stirring every now and then, until al dente (approx 10 minutes).

2. While the pasta is cooking away, prepare the rest of the ingredients, which take about 3 minutes to cook at the end, so the timing is perfect!! Cut 3 garlic cloves into small pieces, and zest some lemon to amount to about 1 teaspoon. My grater/zester is often MIA, so I just finely chopped some lemon rind instead, and wouldn't have known the difference!

3. Cut the tails of the prawns if they have them, and cut them in half if you so desire (in Australia they are actually big enough to justify this, but unfortunately, not always the case in the UK).

4. When you think the pasta is almost done, heat some oil in the pan and add the garlic, prawns, lemon and about 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes (fresh would be fine too, just don't put too much!).

5. The prawns will take about 2 minutes to cook through (they turn pink and prawn-like). You can always throw another shrimp on the barbie if you'd prefer to cook em that way.... to each their own!

6. When the pasta has finished, strain it, and return to its pot. Throw in the cooked prawns, and I added an extra tablespoon of good quality oil at this point. Add the shredded rocket, salt and pepper and combine well.

Serve up while its piping hot and enjoy with a chilled glass of crisp white! If you leave it sit for too long, the rocket will start to wilt, which is neither attractive nor delicious, so be sure to only make this meal as you are ready to devour it!