Cafe Lula

I cannot believe that, given how much pasta I eat, the last time I posted a pasta recipe was in October. That is madness! Utter madness. It is my favourite food and if I could only eat pasta forever I’d… well, I’d cry, because pasta isn’t cake, but it’d definitely be near the top of my “foods I wouldn’t mind eating forever whilst not being allowed to eat anything else, once I’d got used to not being allowed cake” list. Yes, the titles of my lists are always that snappy. Yes, I make many lists. Be quiet now.

Anyway! This is a pretty perfect meal. It takes hardly anytime at all to cook and it manages to taste a little bit naughty whilst actually being quite a healthy meal. The creaminess comes from 1 tbsp of creme fraiche (I used low fat to make it even less naughty), but other than that it’s seafood, courgettes and tomatoes. See? Healthy!

Creamy tomato and prawn pasta

A Cafe Lula recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

12 large tiger prawns

140g scallops

1 courgette, sliced

175g baby plum tomatoes, halved

a good glug of white wine

160g passata

1 tbsp creme fraiche (I used half fat)

black pepper, to season

a pinch of mixed herbs

a few fresh basil leaves, torn

180g pasta

parmesan, to serve

In a large pan or wok, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over a medium heat and fry the shallots for a few minutes until softened.

Set the pasta cooking (working on the basis that it takes 8-10 minutes).

Add the prawns and scallops to the pan and fry for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the courgettes and tomatoes and fry for another 3 minutes, then add the wine. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the passata and creme fraiche and season with the black pepper and mixed herbs. When the pasta is ready, drain it and tip into the sauce along with the basil leaves. Stir well and serve with parmesan.