Pasta with prawns and courgettes

Another light, easy, meat-free pasta dish. I realise that this has been a bit of a theme in recent posts so I feel I should explain; a few weeks ago, GL and I had a holiday in Austria. It was all wonderful - stunning scenery, good weather, friendly locals, wooden chalets with flower-filled balconies and delicious food.



Hintersteinersee, nr Scheffau



View from Hohe Salve, nr Söll



 However, as you might expect, the cuisine is rather meat based. Now, as two confirmed carnivores, GL and I loved it. Nevertheless, we deemed it best to ease up on it slightly once we got home.

RECIPE - serves 3-4

350g 'short' pasta, eg. penne

3 small or 2 large courgettes

1 clove garlic, crushed

300g king prawns, deveined and cut in half if very large

half a glass dry white wine

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Cut the courgettes into smallish dice (I slice the courgettes lengthways into quarters, then cut them at approx 1 cm intervals). Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for a minute or two being careful not to let it brown.  Add the courgettes and cook them over a gentle heat for about 15 minutes, until they're soft and golden. Add the prawns and chilli if using. Throw in the wine, let it bubble up for a minute or so and season with salt and lots of pepper. 

In the meantime, cook the pasta in lots of boiling salted water. When it's al dente, remove from the heat, drain well and toss with the courgette/prawn mix. Drizzle over a little e.v. olive oil and serve with the chopped parsley if using.