Prawn linguine with chilli and tomato

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 300g linguine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 250g raw prawns, peeled
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the pasta on

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the linguine until al dente. Before draining, save a mug of the pasta water. It nearly always turns out to be useful, and this is no exception.

2. Start the base

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion or shallots with a pinch of salt and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for another minute, just until fragrant and smelling like things are heading in the right direction.

3. Build the tomato sauce

Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute or two so it loses that raw edge, then add the chopped tomatoes. Season with black pepper and a little salt, then let it simmer for 10–12 minutes until slightly thickened. You want a sauce with a bit of body to it, not something thin and watery racing about the pan.

4. Add the prawns

Stir the prawns into the sauce and cook for 2–3 minutes until they are pink and just cooked through. Prawns are not interested in hanging about, so keep an eye on them. Overcook them and they let you know very quickly.

5. Bring it all together

Add the drained linguine to the pan along with the lemon zest, half the lemon juice and most of the parsley. Toss everything together over a low heat, adding a splash of the pasta water if needed so the sauce clings nicely to the pasta rather than sitting in clumps.

6. Finish properly

Have a taste and add a little more lemon juice, salt or black pepper if it needs it. The sauce should feel bright, lightly spicy and properly balanced, with the tomato and prawns both still getting their say.

7. Serve

Divide between warm bowls and scatter over the remaining parsley. Serve straight away while the prawns are still tender and the sauce still feels fresh and lively.

A couple of helpful notes
- A small pinch of extra chilli flakes works well if you want a little more heat, but keep it in proportion so it does not bully the prawns.
- Good-quality raw prawns make all the difference here, so it is worth using the best you can get.
- A simple green salad or some warm bread on the side would not go amiss if you want to make a bit more of a meal of it.