Artichoke & Prawn Tagliatelle

This beautiful pesto dish combines so many flavours & ingredients that I absolutely love. Is there anything better than a comforting bowl of pasta on a rainy autumn day? For this pesto I will be using almonds instead of pine nuts. It is a great alternative & can be bought whole & blended, or already blended to a fine powder. The latter will yield a smoother texture though I personally prefer the first option, as I like the extra crunch that freshly blended almonds give the dish. The best artichoke for this dish is the grilled artichokes jarred in oil. Simply drain well before cooking.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

30gr fresh basil, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

50gr whole almonds (or ground almonds)

100gr parmesan & a little extra when serving

8 tbsp olive oil

The juice of 1 lemon

175gr (drained weight) roasted baby artichokes

300 cooked prawns

400gr Tagliatelle

S&P

Instructions:

Add the basil, garlic, almonds, parmesan & olive oil to your mixer.

Blend until you obtain a chunky pesto paste.

Bring a large pot of salty water to boil on medium heat.

Add the tagliatelle & cook according to the instructions on the packaging, then drain.

Heat a pan on medium low heat & add the baby artichoke.

Allow to cook for 2 minutes before adding the prawns, pesto & lemon juice.

Bring to a gentle simmer & cook for 5 minutes.

Add the the cooked tagliatelle & toss well.

Serve immediately with a generous sprinkle of parmesan.