Culture

This simple pasta dish marries prawns with smoked paprika and tart lemon, wrapping the lot up in a rich cream sauce. If you’re a seafood fan but can’t get down to your nearest waterway armed with fishing artillery or face the price that blue cod and salmon fetch at the supermarket, then stock up your freezer with prawns. You can pick up half a kilo for well under $15. Simply thaw them as you need them, whether in the fridge overnight or in the microwave for a few minutes. Spinach and tomato set you on the way to 5+ a day, and balance the heaviness of the cream. I prefer coarsely grated lemon rind, but superfine zest works equally well. For extra tang, try adding a few splashes of white wine along with the tomato. Allow it to cook off before adding the cream. My spaghetti of choice at the moment is the “angel hair” variety – super thin, as the name suggests, and the perfect vehicle for a creamy sauce such as this one. As with most meals, don’t forget the essential final touch of lashings of freshly cracked black pepper.

Ingredients

250g dried spaghetti
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 red onion, finely diced
1 tbs soft brown sugar
20 frozen raw prawn cutlets, defrosted
3 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
300ml cream
300g frozen spinach bundles, defrosted, squeezed of any excess water and roughly chopped
Zest and juice of one lemon

Serves 4

Method

01 | Fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes, or until firm to the bite.

02 | Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a deep frypan. Add the smoked paprika, red onion and soft brown sugar. Cook until the onion is soft, stirring frequently.

03 | Add the prawns and cook for three to four minutes or until cooked through – they will become pink very quickly.

04 | Add the tomatoes and cook for a further minute, stirring to break them down a little.

05 | Add the cream and spinach, stirring to evenly incorporate. Turn the heat up until the cream just starts to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes until the sauce is heated through and thickened. Stir through the lemon zest.

06 | Drain the spaghetti and toss it through the sauce. Pile into bowls and squeeze lemon juice over each portion. Eat immediately.