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    Garlic Prawns with Pasta

    November 11, 2021 by Ayla Clulee 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Garlic Prawns with Pasta has the most delicious creamy sauce made with garlic, tomatoes, peppers, chilli and lots of cheese. This simple recipe comes together in under half an hour. It is the perfect weekday meal to enjoy with a glass of white wine!

    garlic prawns with pasta
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients and Substitutes
    • Step by Step Instructions
    • Related Recipes
    • Top Tip from The Chef
    • Garlic Prawns with Pasta

    Prawns are one of my favourite seafood and mixing them with pasta is a great way to eat them. If you love prawns, check out my other prawn recipes Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec) and Creamy Prawn Pasta.

    Ingredients and Substitutes

    Ingredients for garlic prawns with pasta
    • Prawns - Fresh raw tiger prawns are the best option, they're big and juicy and taste amazing. Buy fresh prawns with shells and heads, if you can. However, peeled and deveined prawns make life easier so it's up to you what prawns to use. For a convenient alternative, use regular raw prawns, they're smaller but cheaper, and they still taste great.
    • Peppers - I prefer using green Turkish peppers but Spanish Padron peppers or bell peppers would also do the job.
    • Tomatoes - Red & juicy summer tomatoes are always the best option. Remove the eye of the tomatoes and cut them into small dice. Use cherry tomatoes for a sweeter taste.
    • Cajun Spices - It is a great seasoning for fish, chicken and meat and is made of salt, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Make your own or buy ready-made from supermarkets.
    • Garlic - Fresh garlic is a great flavouring that adds sweetness and nuttiness to dishes. Turn it into a paste with a Mortar and Pestle or grate it using a Microplane Zester Grater. I use two large or three small fresh garlic cloves for this recipe.
    • Olive oil - Use a good quality olive oil to make the marinade for the prawns. A little goes long way!
    • Butter - Use salted or unsalted good quality butter for extra rich and nutty flavour. Lightly brown the butter before adding the prawns.
    • Red chilli - Optional, can be substituted with flaked chillies or fresh green chillies. adjust the amount to your taste.
    • Double cream - It is very similar to heavy cream. You can substitute it with whipping cream or milk and butter.
    • Lemon juice - It adds some freshness to the sauce as well as enhances the flavour! Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the bottled ones.
    • Cheese - No pasta is complete without cheese. Use stilton, gorgonzola or Roquefort along with parmesan and cheddar, to enrich the sauce and give a sharp umami flavour. Adjust the amount of cheese to your taste.
    • Fresh herbs - The best herbs to pair with seafood are dill, parsley, tarragon, chervil and chives. Use a mixture of a few or just one of them to add a delicate, sharp punch to your pasta.
    • Pasta - Dried or fresh, any pasta type works great with this garlicky sauce.

    Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities.

    Step by Step Instructions

    It is very easy to make this delicious pasta dish and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:

    Marinate the Prawns

    Mix olive oil and cajun spices in a bowl and then add the prawns, mix until prawns are nicely covered with spiced olive oil. Set them aside and then let them marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Put some water to boil for pasta before starting the sauce.

    Marinate the prawns in olive oil and cajun spices

    Make the Sauce

    To make the sauce, place a large pan or wok on medium heat and then melt the butter. When the butter starts sizzling, add the prawns and then cook for a minute, until they turn pink and start to curl. Don't be tempted to cook any longer as they will cook more later with the sauce.

    Remove the prawns to a plate and then set them aside to add them later to the sauce. Add the garlic to the same pan and then quickly sauté for 30 seconds with the remaining butter and then add the peppers. Sauté peppers for another minute and then add the tomatoes (and chillies if using). 

    quickly sauté the prawns in butter for garlic prawns with pasta sauce
    saute the peppers in the pan
    add the tomatoes to the pan

    Cook the tomatoes until soft, for about a couple of minutes and then add the double cream, salt and pepper. The water for the pasta should be boiling at this point. Add plenty of salt to boiling water and then add your pasta in. (Assuming that you are using dried pasta which usually takes 10 to 12 minutes.

    If you are using fresh pasta, start cooking it later). Reduce the cream down for a few minutes and then add the blue cheese along with the lemon juice. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring until the blue cheese melts into the creamy sauce. Add the rest of the cheese, chopped herbs and then the prawns last minute, just before adding the cooked pasta into the sauce.

    add double cream to the pan
    add cooked prawns to the sauce
    add chopped fresh herbs to finish garlic prawns with pasta

    Stir well until nicely combined and then remove it from the heat. Serve with some more grated cheese and chopped herbs.

    What goes well with prawns?

    Prawns are great to mix with pasta, but there are many other ways to enjoy this popular seafood. You can make cheesy and spicy Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec) or you can add them to your Fish Pie mixture. You can make a prawn cocktail, Garlic Prawns with Pasta, prawn kebabs or just add to salads. 

    What pasta shape to use?

    I prefer using long shaped pasta such as linguini, spaghetti, fettuccine or tagliatelle but you can use what you have in your pantry.

    How to clean and prepare the prawns?

    Remove the prawn head by holding the prawn by the body with one hand and then firmly grasp the prawn's head with your other hand. 
    Peel off the shell and then peel off the remainder of the prawn's outer layer. Pull the legs off using your fingers, from its underside. Then pull off the tail, firmly holding the body of the prawn with one hand and grabbing the prawn tail with your other hand. Devein the prawn with the help of a sharp small knife. Cut a small line that runs down the length of the prawn's back and use the tip of the knife to pull out the vein. You can also watch the short video attached to the recipe card to show how to peel and devein raw prawns.

    Related Recipes

    For more great pasta recipes why not try:

    • Creamy Prawn Pasta
    • Chorizo and Prawn Pasta
    • Spicy Meatball Pasta
    • Pasta with Green Sauce
    • Homemade Lasagna
    • Classic Bolognese Sauce
    • Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
    • Salmon and Spinach Pasta

    Top Tip from The Chef

    Always keep some of the pasta cooking water while making the sauce. If the sauce gets too thick while you cook it, add some pasta water to make it creamy again.

    I hope you enjoy the process of making these flavoursome Garlic Prawns with Pasta as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂

    Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

    garlic prawns with pasta

    Garlic Prawns with Pasta

    Juicy tiger prawns marinated in cajun spices meet with creamy and garlicky sauce in this delicious pasta dish.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 25 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 878 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Kitchen Digital Scale
    • 1 Cheese Grater
    • 1 Saucepan with Lid
    • 1 Nonstick Wok and Stir Fry Pan
    • 1 High Heat Silicone Spatula
    • 1 Measuring Spoons

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 300 g tiger or king prawns (shelled and deveined, cut in two lengthwise)
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • ½ tablespoon cajun spice
    • 10 g butter
    • 1 Turkish chilli (or ½ green bell pepper or few green Spanish padron peppers) (sliced)
    • 2 medium tomatoes (small diced)
    • 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
    • 1 red chilli (finely chopped, optional)
    • 225 ml double cream or heavy cream
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 50 g blue cheese (crumbled)
    • 100 g grated cheddar cheese
    • 50 g grated parmesan cheese
    • 2 tablespoon chopped herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon, chives or chervil
    • 400 g pasta your choice

    Instructions
     

    • Mix olive oil and cajun spices in a bowl and add the prawns, mix until prawns are nicely covered with spiced olive oil. Set them aside and let them marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
    • Put some water to boil for pasta before starting the sauce.
    • To make the sauce, place a large pan or wok on medium heat and melt the butter.
    • When the butter starts sizzling, add the prawns and cook for a minute, until they turn pink and start to curl. Don't be tempted to cook any longer as they will cook more later with the sauce.
    • Remove the prawns on a plate and set them aside to use later.
    • Add the garlic to the same pan and quickly sauté for 30 seconds with the remaining butter and then add the peppers.
    • Sauté peppers for another minute and then add the tomatoes (and chillies if using).
    • Cook the tomatoes until soft, for about a couple of minutes and then add the double cream, salt and pepper.
    • The water for the pasta should be boiling at this point. Add plenty of salt to boiling water and add your pasta in. (Assuming that you are using dried pasta which usually takes 10 to 12 minutes. If you are using fresh pasta, start cooking it later).
    • Reduce the cream down for a few minutes and then add the blue cheese along with the lemon juice.
    • Cook for a few more minutes, stirring until the blue cheese melts into the creamy sauce.
    • Add the rest of the cheese, chopped herbs and prawns last minute, just before adding the cooked pasta into the sauce.
    • Stir all well together until nicely combined and remove from the heat.
    • Serve with some more grated cheese and chopped herbs.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 878kcalCarbohydrates: 84gProtein: 39gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 218mgSodium: 1563mgPotassium: 692mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2581IUVitamin C: 51mgCalcium: 503mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword Dinner Ideas, Easy Dinner Recipes, Italian Food, Mediterrenean Cuisine, pasta, Quick & Easy, Quick Dinner Ideas
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    FOOD SAFETY

    • Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
    • Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
    • Never leave cooking food unattended
    • Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
    • Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

    See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

    This post use affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carole

      December 22, 2021 at 5:01 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! Smells as good as it tastes. Will be making again soon.

      Reply

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    Hi! Thank you for visiting Cooking Gorgeous. My name is Ayla, and I’m a professional chef based in the UK. The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy. To me, food is more than ingredients and nutrition; it is a language of love, a way of expressing compassion.

    In Turkish culture, food is at the centre of every gathering: religious holidays, birthdays, celebrations, funerals and the list goes on. So, probably like many others, I love food. And not just the food itself, but also the process of preparing the food fascinated me from a very young age. 

    More about me →

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