King prawn pasta with homemade pesto, tomatoes and chilli

So, FINALLY I have managed to do a new blog post...it's only taken 6 months! Shameful, I know.

In the midst of working and working out and general life getting in the way I have been incredibly bad at keeping the blog updated.

Anyway, all day at work in between the stress of doing two jobs and training someone new, all I could think about was how I couldn't wait to get back into my kitchen and what I would make for dinner. Don't get me wrong, that kind of feeling is a daily recurrence but today the thought of finally getting home was the only thing getting me through a day of interruptions, investigations and letters...the endless letters!

I bought a new basil plant last week so thought I'd go for a pasta dish with some fresh pesto...and if I was doing pasta it would have to also include a tomato sauce and king prawns. So here it is, King prawn pasta with pesto, tomatoes and chilli. This is so easy and it's a perfect midweek dinner. This serves 2 adults so just adjust the quantities for how many mouths you have to feed.

What you'll need:
Pesto:
A good handful of fresh  whole basil leaves
50g pine nuts (toast in a frying pan until lightly golden)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
50g Parmesan, grated
Around 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Pasta sauce:
180g raw king prawns
230g tin chopped tomatoes
3 whole salad tomatoes, cut into eigths
Salt & pepper to season
Approx. 150g wholewheat spaghetti
1 x finely sliced chilli (optional)

How to make it
First of all, make the pesto. Add the toasted pine nuts, garlic, basil, Parmesan and olive oil to a food processor and blitz until...well, until what I'd describe as "bitty" - so in between chunky and smooth. Set aside.

Next, put some water on to boil and once it reaches boiling point put the spaghetti in. When the water reaches boiling point again, turn it down to a moderate heat (it will need around 9 -10 minutes on a simmer to cook)

Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the salad tomatoes. Cook for about 1 minute and then add the chopped tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a good stir and cook for about 2 minutes (if you want to, you could always add some fresh, chopped red chilli if you want to add a bit of a kick to the dish)

Add about 2 tablespoons of the pesto you made earlier and stir. When the pesto is combined, add the king prawns and the salt and pepper. The sauce will then cook on a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked through.

Add the spaghetti to the sauce, give it a good stir and then serve in some bowls, topped with some more grated Parmesan and some fresh basil leaves.

Then scoff!

Enjoy! - follow me on Twitter @AsWarmAsToastUK or find me on Instagram by searching for aswarmastoast

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R x