Easy Garlic Prawn Pasta

By: Gen Zou

By: Gen Zou

"Garlic prawn (shrimp) pasta is one of the easiest, quickest kinds of pasta you can make. And it tastes sooo good! Save time by buying the already peeled, deveined prawns from the frozen section and you’ll have dinner ready in 15 minutes! If you’re in Australia, you know prawns and spring/summer goes hand in hand. This simple, tangy garlic prawn pasta is a great way to eat prawns. No cream, just light and delicious. Pair this with a simple crunchy salad and you’ve got yourself a perfect, healthy meal!"

NotesNote 1. Peeled, deveined prawns you can find peeled, deveined (butterflied) raw prawns from the frozen section at most supermarkets. If using fresh prawns, follow the steps below to peel and devein at home:

- Lightly twist off the head of the prawns. If they’re super fresh, the vein may come out too.
- Peel the shells and legs off the prawns. I always start from the legs and most of the times the shells come off together.
- Carefully, make an incision along the back of the prawn with a small knife. The safest way is by laying the prawn down on its side and cut the incision.
- Scrape off the vein with the tip of your knife.

Note 2. Pasta cooking water is used to to help loosen up the pasta and allow easy mixing and bringing all the ingredients together. It also prevents pasta from drying out. If you forget to reserve the pasta cooking water, simply use hot water to mix the pasta with. Be sure to taste and adjust for seasoning before serving as desired.

Note 3. Adding salt to pasta cooking water seasons the pasta as it cooks – goodbye bland pasta!

Note 4. Leftovers for the next day as a general rule, I don’t recommend leaving seafood dishes for the next day. However, if you must, I recommend not reheating and eat the pasta cold. It’ll still be tasty! Reheating leftover seafood brings out a fishy smell and the flesh dries out very easily.

Click here for the recipe

Serves3 People

Cooking Time15 min

Cooking MethodSkillet

Ingredients

10 ounces Raw, peeled, deveined prawns/shrimp
9 ounces Dried spaghetti
3 tablespoons Olive oil
1 cup fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
1 Lemon for juice (about 1tbsp)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Ensure to season the water with salt. About 1 tbsp.
Whilst pasta is cooking, mix prawn/shrimp marinade (1 tbsp olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper) with shrimp and set aside.
Once pasta is cooked to al dente, drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.
Saute marinated shrimp with 2 tbsp of olive oil on a large, non-stick pan on medium/high heat. Cook for 1 minute.
Squeeze in lemon juice, stir for 10 seconds then mix in cooked pasta and reserved pasta cooking water. Stir thoroughly for 1 minute.
By now, the pasta cooking water should have been mostly absorbed.