Episode 3 of Thandi's recipes

King Prawn and Chickpea tomato Spaghetti

Every summer I struggle with what to cook as it is either too hot to go outside and source fresh ingredients or heavy food is just too rich. So salads and fresh pastas become my staple. This recipe is a simple way to fill up on protein and carbs after a long walk or cycle. Portion size is everything when it comes to carbs so  I try to have smaller portions  if carb meals as I am genetically built to store glycogen! (And I am too lazy to burn the calories off!)

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 large tomatoes

1 can of chickpeas

1 large red onion

350g fresh uncooked king prawns(They normally come in 175g packs)

500g fresh spaghetti (most supermarkets sell fresh pasta. It has a more flavoursome taste.)

1tsp chilli flakes or one fresh red chilli deseeded and finely chopped

Cracked black pepper and coarse salt to season

Some fresh basil leaves roughly chopped to garnish

Olive oil for drizzling

3-4 tbsp Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Method

Finely slice the red onion and chop the tomatoes into wedges.

Add some vegetable oil to a medium saucepan and heat on a medium heat. Add the onions to the oil and shallow fry until browned. 

Add the tomato wedges and cover the saucepan to sweat the tomatoes for 5 minutes.  

Once tomatoes are soft add chillies, salt, black pepper and taste to ensure it is to your liking.

Pour in the can of chickpeas including the water and let the mix simmer for 15 minutes to incorporate the flavours and reduce the water content.

Once the mixture is consistently thick remove from heat. 

  In another saucepan bring about 750ml of water to the boil. Add the fresh pasta and some salt and simmer for 4-5 minutes until pasta is al dente. Once pasta is cooked, pour into a colander over the sink to drain the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and use tongs to incorporate the oil into the pasta as this stops it sticking.  Pour into serving dish.

Bring  the tomato/chickpea sauce to the boil and add the fresh prawns and cook on a medium heat until prawns turn fully pink. Pour over pasta and garnish with basil leaves.

Serve with a green salad. 

More recipes to come...........