Classic Pesto and Prawn Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle – an egg pasta usually porous and rough, perfect for thick sauces generally made with beef, veal or pork, as well as several other less rich (and can’t believe I’m saying this but...) more vegetarian options. Maybe you’d like a briciole e noci (with breadcrumbs and nuts), uovo e formaggio (with eggs and cheese - a less rich carbonara), or simply pomodoro e basilico (with tomatoes and basil). No matter how you make it, just make sure it’s al dente as over boiling it make it podgy and not so Italian.

You’ll need:

il pesto: The Pesto!
- ½ a garlic.
- 3 good handfuls of fresh basil and parsley
- some pecirino cheese
- handful of pine nuts
- Usually people use extra virgin olive oil but I’m in love with this hemp oil (has a sweet nutty flavour to it with decently high smoke point)
- half a green chilli because I’m an Indian after all 😉

*Optional: a small squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Blitz it all in a mixer and keep it a bit chunky.

per i gamberetti: for the prawns

Good old marinade with salt, pepper, lime and chilli flakes.

Start cooking the prawns and once they start turning orange. Wait a minute, why do they turn orange or red? Crustaceans turn orange or red due to a chemical called astaxanthin, which is contained in their shells. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment: absorbing blue light and appearing red, orange or yellow in colour.

This is something my wife complaints about as well, while I’m telling her a recipe, I start going into the science of it. Anyways, add the pesto and cook it till the oil starts to separate. Add the cooked tagliatelle and mix it around till the pasta is evenly coated. Garnish with some grated parmesan and finely chopped fresh basil and/or parsley.