This little beauty of a pasta dish combines some of my
absolute favourite flavours. Prawns and garlic are, of course, a well-known
foodie pair, but you might not have encountered them in the company of basil
and coconut before. In fact, they make an excellent team – the sweet nutty
flavour of coconut is fabulous with the richness of garlic, and the fresh,
slightly citrus taste of basil is a great foil for the prawns. This is a really
quick meal to put together – you can do everything in the time it takes for the
pasta to cook – so it makes a great lunch or easy dinner.
Ingredients
A big handful of little peeled prawns
2 plump garlic cloves
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
Butter
A small handful of fresh basil
A pinch of salt
Dried linguini, to serve
Serves 2
Start by boiling the kettle and putting the pasta on to
cook.
Next, finely mince the garlic and pop into a frying pan
with a generous scoop of butter. Let it sizzle for a few minutes, and then add
the prawns and 1 tbsp desiccated coconut and stir well. While the prawns cook,
roughly chop the basil, ready to sprinkle on top at the end.
When the pasta is done, drain most of the water away
(leave a few drops in the bottom, to help the sauce coat the pasta) and then
add the pasta to the frying pan with the prawns. Stir really well, then turn
off the heat and leave for a moment.
Finally, take a small frying pan, place on a high heat,
and toast the remaining desiccated coconut briefly, until it starts to turn
golden brown. To serve, divide the pasta between two plates and sprinkle with
the fresh basil and toasted coconut.
