Dinner in 20 minutes!
These days I’m working from home like almost everyone else. At first, I hated it. The idea of being confined to my bedroom while the kids ran amuck in the rest of the house drove me insane. But since schools opened up again and they went back, I’ve loved working at home. It meant I could spend more time with the girls at either end of the day. I could do this despite my workload significantly increasing due to work demands and doing long hours. So getting dinner on the table quickly has still been a priority. That’s why I have fallen in love with this creamy tomato garlic prawns recipe – it literally only takes 20 minutes to make!
Let’s talk about the benefits of creamy tomato garlic prawns:
- There’s no chilli which is a common ingredient for recipes with prawns – something our two girls aren’t particularly fond of still.
- It literally takes 20 minutes to make which means hungry tummies are filled quicker
- This is gluten-free if you substitute regular pasta for one that is gluten-free which is perfect for those who are coeliac or choosing a low gluten diet.
Prawns are a luxury for us. We don’t have them that often at all. We’d be lucky to have them maybe once every two months. But when we do, we often just buy them cooked so just a little seafood sauce and a squeeze of lemon is all they need. This time however I managed to grab some raw prawns at a reasonable price. I wanted to use them in a recipe that did justice. This recipe definitely does that!
Difference between Prawns and Shrimp
I love seeing the difference in cooking terminology which is why I have to talk about prawns versus shrimp. In Australia, it’s all about prawns. I’ll admit, I had to resort to Google to find this out and this article. Prawns have claws on three of their five pairs of legs while shrimp only have claws on two of their five pairs of legs. There are a few other differences but nothing major. You can interchange them in recipes.
Want another delicious recipe?
If you like this recipe, you’ll also love others available here. From pastas to risottos, cookies to desserts, and bliss balls to gluten-free options with everything in between. There is truly something here for everyone. I have developed this website to provide family-friendly recipes where I maximise both fresh produce while minimising cost.
Creamy Tomato Garlic Prawns
Ingredients
- 300 g dry weight spaghetti, regular or gluten-free
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons butter, or olive oil
- 9 cloves garlic, crushed
- 500 g raw large prawns, fully peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1.5 teaspoon salt, divided
- 700 g passata or marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoon chicken stock powder
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 cup milk or cream
- grated parmesan, optional to serve
- extra fresh chopped parsley, optional to serve
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. (While pasta is boiling, prepare shrimp sauce.)
- Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until transparent. Stir in the garlic and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Quickly add in the sauce, stock powder, parsley, pepper and remaining salt. Allow the sauce to heat through for another minute before adding the milk (or cream). Continue cooking for a further minute or until the prawns are cooked through.
- Add in the prawns with the basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté shrimp for 2 minutes on one side then flip and continue to sauté on the other side for a further minute.
- Once the pasta is cooked and drained, stir it through the creamy tomato sauce, toss until combined. Season with extra salt if desired.
- Serve immediately with the optional parsley and/or parmesan sprinkled on top.