Let me explain to you the reason why I love this recipe.
Firstly its one of the simplest recipes on my website. It's great for two reasons; Homecooks of any experience will find this recipe super easy to follow and feel like a pro once they've finished it. Also because of the simplicity of the recipe it really allows the yummy ingredients to really shine.
Secondly, its a really low calorie meal option, so if your are watching what your eating this will satisfy without an abundance of calories.
Thirdly, and most importantly its just absolutely crummy, it screams of a beautiful Mediterranean meal but the sea with a nice crisp glass of white wine (although perhaps skip the wine if your looking to cut out the calories)
Make sure you have a pan with a lid available to cook the sauce as you will need to cover the tomatoes to help them break down. There's a picture after the recipe write up, please tap on it and it will take you to a short recipe video to guide you.
Prep time 3mins
Cooking time 20mins
150g dried long pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine
2tsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
120g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Salt and pepper
1/4tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
100ml water
150g raw red Argentinian prawns, (or about 14 prawns) argentinian prawns are my preference because they're big and juicy but you can swap for king prawns
2tsp of freshly chopped parsley
Turn a large saucepan of water on to boil, add a pinch of salt. Once the water is boiling add your pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Try and time it so that it'll be ready when your sauce is. The sauce should take 15 mins maximum to cook.
In a large sauté pan or deep frying pan add the oil and turn it on to a medium heat.
Once you are happy with the temperature of the oil add all of the garlic. Gently cook for about 3 minutes until fragrant.
Once your garlic is just fragrant add in all of your cherry tomatoes, cook for a minute then add salt and pepper, everyones taste is different but I like to add just under a 1/4 of a teaspoon at this point. Also if you're using add the dried chilli flakes.
Now add the water and cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat up to a high medium and let the tomatoes break down this should take around 8 minutes, check on them half way though and give a little stir.
After 8 mins approx, your tomatoes should be lovely and broken down, they'll have released all their lovely juices, this is basically our sauce, simple and delicious.
Now we are going to add our prawns in. Allow them to cook gently. Turning every now and again until they are just cooked through. This will take between 3-4 mins depending on how big your prawns are.
If your sauce dries up at any point while cooking the prawns add a spoon full of the pasta water to loosen it up.
Your pasta should be just about ready to drain, so check you're happy with your prawns and that the sauce is thick enough to coat the pasta. (click the picture below for a short recipe video to see what to aim for)
Have a little taste of the sauce and just add a little more salt and pepper if you wish.
Drain your pasta, add it to the sauce and toss to coat.
Dish up and serve, garnish with some fresh parsley.
