Capellini al Pesto e Gamberi

Hello Everyone! I’ll keep this short and simple as I don’t have much to say either. So out of all the pasta dishes that I have whipped up in the kitchen over the years, there has been one recipe that I hadn’t attempted to make myself from scratch – and that recipe is for homemade pesto sauce. I’m actually not a pesto person, and it’s not that I don’t have anything against it, it’s just that I prefer cream-based or aglio e olio-based pastas. However, that didn’t stop me from trying to make my own pesto sauce at home!

Last weekend, I went grocery shopping with my family. We scattered all around the grocers and I found myself at the fresh herbs section, and to my dismay, they did not have any fresh basil leaves *sad face* at first I was trying to come up with another pasta dish to make – thinking about what I had at home and what I could whip up easily as well. Then I decided to quickly look up on possible substitutes for basil leaves, and I was slightly relieved that I could use other greens such as cilantro or parsley for my pesto. In my opinion, I don’t think they flavours of using either was as strong as using basil, but it was satisfactory.

There are other ingredients that you can use to make different types of pesto, and you can find it here on Oh My Veggies. I’m keen to try out the sun-dried tomato and beet pesto another time!

PREP TIME 10-15 MINS | COOKING TIME 5 MINS | SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

For the pesto

1 bunch parsley, rough chopped (about 2 & 1/2 cups)
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
Ground salt and black pepper to taste

500g angel hair pasta (or any other shaped pasta)
500g fresh prawns, heads removed, peeled and deveined

METHOD

For the pesto: Preheat oven to about Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Set aside.
For the prawns: Heat a large frying pan on high until it is very hot. Add a little bit of melted butter or oil to the pan and swirl it around the base. Add the prawns and cook for about 2-3 minutes (1 to 1 & 1/2 minutes per side) or until they change colour to pink. Prawns cook very quickly. If you leave them on the heat for too long they will be tough and unpalatable. When they are cooked, remove them and drain them on absorbent paper before serving.
For the pasta: While the prawns are cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the angel hair pasta according to packet instructions – they usually take only 2 minutes to cook.
Once the pasta is done, turn the heat off, drain and return the angel hair pasta to the pot. Add the pesto and stir until the pasta is well coated.
Divide the pasta into 5 equal portions and top each plate with the pan-fried prawns, a bit of crushed cashews, and some parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!