Frozen prawns are a weekday dinner lifeline for me. I love the flavour and always feel like prawns are a bit of a treat; I think it’s being a kid of the 80s and prawn cocktail for special occasions. Prawns cook really quickly, deliver loads of protein, virtually fat free and have vitamins and minerals to boot – what a powerful ingredient!

I love that this isn’t a heavy pasta dish so it’s perfect for transitioning one of my favourite carbs into warmer weather.

I can have this simple pasta meal on the table in under 20 minutes using mostly freezer and cupboard ingredients. The freshness comes by adding chives at the last minute. You can grow chives really easily in a pot and they come back every year without much care. I love them. The flowers are edible so whilst they’re in bloom, add a few to your meal for a bright pop of colour and delicious flavour.

INGREDIENTS
serves 4
400g frozen prawns
100g frozen peas
1 lemon
50g butter
30g of raw garlic
2 tbsps olive oil
salt and pepper
chives and flowers – optional
370g linguine

• Whilst your pasta is cooking in salty, boiling water, finely chop the garlic and add it to a large frying pan or skillet on a medium heat, with half the butter and 2 tbsps of olive oil.
• Use a microplane to grate the zest of one lemon into the garlic then add the prawns and peas (straight from frozen is fine).
• Squeeze in the juice of half the lemon and give everything a stir. Cook for just a few minutes in the medium heat – the prawns will finish cooking when they’re added to the linguine.

• Reserve some pasta water then drain the linguine before adding the pasta back to the pan.
• Tip the prawns and peas mixture into the pasta and add a little of the pasta water and the rest of the butter then give everything a vigorous stir over a medium high heat. The stirring, pasta water and butter start to make a glossy sauce that coats the linguine.
• Cook until the prawns are full cooked then taste to adjust the salt and lemon balance. Adding extra butter is ALWAYS an option!
• Dish up then grind over with pepper and scatter with fresh chives and a few flowers if you have them.