One of my past cooking school teachers Bryonie, who some of you will know, is brilliant at quick family meal recipes. This is one of hers and always a favourite. Whilst the pasta is boiling, the sauce can be put together and then dinner's ready!
INGREDIENTS FOR FOUR
PASTA
300gm spaghetti, linguine or fettucine
3gm salt
SAUCE
200gm brown onion
extra virgin olive oil to fry
2 x medium cloves garlic
200gm button or Swiss brown mushrooms
100ml dry white wine
300ml whipping cream
400gm raw peeled prawns
200gm baby spinach leaves
1 x large red chilli
30gm flat leaf parsley
1 x small lemon
COOKS NOTES
- When making a creamy pasta sauce, I advise you to remove 200mls or so of pasta cooking water from the pan before draining. This way you have some slightly starchy hot water on standby, to thin the sauce down with on serving if necessary.
- Bannister Downs Dairy in Nannup WA produces the best cream.
- Place pasta in boiling water when you think you are about 10 minutes away from having the sauce completed. Pasta waits for no-one! If it sits too long, it will get cold and sticky. Pasta should not be rinsed under the tap once cooked, the starch on the pasta assists in the sauce sticking to it. In this case, it will also help to thicken the sauce once tossed through.
- Do not wash mushrooms as they will absorb water. Wipe them with kitchen paper, or use fingers to remove any pieces of mushroom compost. Use stalks as well as caps. If you have access to fresh oyster mushrooms combine these with regular mushrooms for a special flavour and texture.
- This is best eaten immediately. Re-heating is possible but the texture is not as good as when it's first made. If dry, the dish can be loosened with a little hot water from a just boiled kettle.
- Change up vegies:
- frozen baby peas (always a great match with seafood) added at point 10
- halved cherry tomatoes added at point 10
- blanched broccoli florets added at point 11
- asparagus spears sliced and added at point 10
- sweetcorn kernels, cut from cob and added at point 10
METHOD
- Bring large covered saucepan of water to the boil over high heat.
- Meanwhile start the sauce. Place frying pan on medium high heat.
- Peel and finely dice onion. Fry in pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with large pinch salt and some black pepper. Allow onions to colour slightly and ensure they are translucent before going on to the next stage.
- Place spaghetti in boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt. Place lid on pan and bring back to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer pasta, for allocated time shown on packet. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Remove some cooking water (see notes) and set aside, then drain when ready and replace in warm saucepan.
- Cut mushrooms into ½cm thick slices.
- Add crushed garlic to onion and stir briefly.
- Toss in mushrooms, season with a couple pinches more salt. Fry for a few minutes to colour and just cook through.
- Turn heat to high and add wine. Allow to sizzle and bubble for a minute to burn off alcohol. Pour in cream and bring to a simmer.
- Add prawns and spinach leaves. Stir to combine and simmer for a couple of minutes to cook prawns and wilt spinach.
- Finely slice chilli with or without seeds - your choice. Or use Krunchilli condiment.
- Roughly chop parsley leaves.
- Squeeze lemon. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice to sauce with half chilli and parsley. Taste for seasoning and balance sourness of lemon with salt. Add a further pinch or two of black pepper if liked at this stage.
- Pour sauce into saucepan containing pasta and toss to combine well. Check seasoning again and adjust to your liking.
- As spaghetti is tossed through sauce it will start to soak up moisture. If sauce too runny, cover pan and wait a couple of minutes - if too thick, use reserved pasta water or boil the kettle, and thin with a couple of tablespoons hot water.
- Serve in warm bowls sprinkled with remaining parsley and chilli.
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