Prawn and Spinach Pasta

Prawn and Spinach Pasta (Shrimp) with a chilly kick and a touch of parmesan, a quick dish that is ready in under 20 minutes, ideal for a midweek dinner when time is ever so precious. Flavourful and colourful, this homemade pasta recipe is simple, but absolutely delicious.

To avoid any misunderstanding, shrimp and prawns mean exactly the same thing. While Shrimp is the American term of seafood, prawn is the English version. Since I live in the Isle of Man, it comes a lot easier to say prawns, although when I was in Romania I learnt about shrimp in school. So, there you go, both terms are ok to be used (right?).

With shrimp/prawns, one could either have a love or hate relationship. Some might find them not that appealing, others would have tons of shrimps and still ask for more. I used to be part of the first category of people, up until I discovered that cooked nicely, they can be so delicious.

Just plain shrimps would have exactly this taste: plain and boring, nothing special. But add some garlic or some fiery spices and you won't stop eating them. I do love garlic, I must have said it thousands of times already, although for some reasons, I seem to stomach it easier if it is cooked, rather than raw. And luckily, most of the dishes could have some garlic added.

Jump to:

• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step photos and instructions
• Expert tips
• Other seafood pasta recipes
• Prawn and Spinach Pasta

Ingredients needed

• packet spaghetti - or any other pasta shape
• king prawns -shrimp
• red chilli
• fresh baby spinach
• tomatoes
• garlic cloves
• a pinch of pepper
• olive oil
• grated parmesan cheese

Step-by-step photos and instructions

While my little girls, and I bet most kids in general love red pasta, aka pasta in tomato sauce, I quite prefer them not coated in a thick sauce, but rather light, with just a few simple ingredients added.

• First, cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain,  and set aside.
• To cook the shrimp, heat up the oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and red chillies, sautee for a few seconds to release the flavours, then add the prawns and cook until they change into a pink colour.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and spinach, and coo for a further 1-2 minutes for the spinach to wilt

Don't overcook the shrimp, otherwise it becomes hard and rubbery!

•  In goes the cooked pasta, sprinkle some parmesan over, and a pinch of ground black pepper

And that's it! Your pasta is ready! No unnecessary sauces, just the real deal! It also makes a great packed work lunch, and that will save you wasting money on a bough lunch, which we all know how expensive it can be. A take-away pasta dish wouldn't be under at least £6-£7. And if you think that's not too bad, well, in a month, that does add up.

Expert tips

It's very important not to overcook the prawns - it's like eating an overdone steak, still edible, but not quite enjoyable. If you use ready peeled and cooked prawns, just add them once the spinach has wilted, they only need a 30 seconds or so to warm up, no need for them to cook for any longer.

For my recipes I used spaghetti, but anything else goes: linguine, penne pasta, fettuccini, you name it. Spaghetti look nicer to me, but that's just personal preference, and it has nothing to do with the taste.

Other seafood pasta recipes

You can add more seafood to the dish, my Seafood Pasta is an example how wonderfully well mixed seafood work in a pasta dish. Just add any other seafood at the same time you add the prawns, and just follow the recipe.

For a more creamy texture, how about my 20-Minute Creamy Shrimp Alfredo Pasta? It's one of my most popular recipes, and rightly so, it's absolutely delicious and super quick and easy to make too. If I say so myself.

If you’ve tried my PPRAWN AND SPINACH PASTA or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

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