Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Spaghetti Without Parmesan Is Possible

After a two-week holiday abroad, eating cheese every single day, both my boyfriend and I decide not to buy or use any cheese for a week. Ok, we lasted only four days but during that short period of time we discovered this light, wonderful, spaghetti recipe. It can be eaten without the use of parmesan, pecorino or manchego, something that up to now seemed impossible to do. Serves 4.

Ingredients
    •    400g dried spaghetti (we used Dove Farm gluten free)
    •    6 tbsp olive oil
    •    3 garlic cloves, crushed
    •    2 medium-hot red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped (if you don't fancy spicy food you can skip this part)
    •    150g vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned and chopped (or tomato paste)
    •    Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
    •    300-400g cooked and peeled tiger prawns, thawed if frozen
    •    150g rocket leaves



1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to pack instructions.
2. Shortly before the spaghetti is ready, put the oil and garlic into a large deep frying pan or shallow saucepan over a medium-high heat. As soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, add the chillies and fry for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and fry for a further minute. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, prawns and some seasoning and cook for 1.5-2 minutes, until the prawns are heated through.
3. Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan of prawns with the rocket and toss together well. Divide between 4 warmed pasta bowls and serve.