Lemon Prawn Linguine with Peas
- Savory
- Quick
- Italian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Plump prawns and sweet peas tossed through linguine in a bright lemon and garlic sauce, with spring onions for a fresh finish. A light, high-protein pasta dinner that comes together in one pot and one pan.
- Total
- 19 min
- Prep 5 · Cook 14
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Cooking al dente · Emulsifying
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tsp salt. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes, stirring once so the strands separate.
~9 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within, and stirring in the first minute stops the strands sticking together.
Cooking al dente Bite a strand a minute before the timer: it should be tender with a slight firmness at the core, never soft and floppy.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the linguine cooks, peel and finely chop the garlic. Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then juice half of it. Slice the spring onions thinly, keeping the white and green parts separate.
~4 min
-
While step 1 cooks
While the linguine finishes, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and spring onion whites and cook until fragrant and softened, about 1 minute, without letting the garlic brown.
~1 min
Garlic turns bitter once it browns, so gentle heat coaxes out its sweetness while keeping the flavour clean.
-
Add the prawns to the pan and cook, turning once, until they turn pink and opaque all the way through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
~6 min
Prawns are lean and cook fast; stopping as soon as they are opaque keeps them plump rather than rubbery.
-
Reserve 100 ml of the pasta cooking water, then drain the linguine. Add the linguine to the pan with the prawns along with 60 ml of the reserved water, the lemon zest and the lemon juice. Toss over low heat until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the strands, about 1 minute, adding a splash more water if it looks dry.
~1 min
The starchy pasta water emulsifies with the oil and lemon juice, thickening into a glossy sauce that coats every strand.
Add the lemon juice off the heat at the very end: boiling it dulls the fresh citrus aroma, while stirring it in last keeps the sauce bright.
Emulsifying Toss vigorously over low heat so the starchy water, oil and lemon juice combine into a glossy sauce that clings; add water a splash at a time if it splits.
-
Season with the black pepper and toss through the spring onion greens. Serve straight away.
~1 min
