Prep Time: 10 mins      Cook Time: 15 mins      Serves: 6

Ingredients

700g fettuccine, cooked according to packet directions

60g butter

2 tablespoons oil

1kg green prawns (raw), peeled, deveined, tails left intact (see note)

3 shallots, finely chopped (optional)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

Splash of white wine

1/2 cup cream (optional)

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2-1 lemon, juiced (omit cream if using; see note)

Grated parmesan, to serve (optional)

Method

Cook prawns in oil for around 3-4 mins or until cooked through; do not overcook. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in same pan, cook shallots, garlic and chilli until softened and slightly coloured. After that, proceed with one of the two methods below:

Cream Sauce

Do not use chillies for this method. After shallots and garlic have softened, add wine and allow to reduce by three-quarters. After 4 mins, add cream, stir and bring to a simmer. Once it starts simmering, remove from the heat and stir in cooked fettuccine, prawns, and chopped parsley, as well as seasoning with salt and pepper.

Non-creamy Sauce

Do not use shallots for this method. After cooking the prawns, cook the garlic and chilli for 1-2 mins, without burning. After 1-2 mins, add the cooked fettuccine and prawns, and keep stirring everything in the pan using tongs, while gradually adding doses of olive oil and only a splash of wine. Once it is just right, remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley and lemon juice, as well as seasoning with salt and pepper.

Notes

If you do not have time to cook your own prawns, or if you do not want to follow this step, just use cooked prawns instead. Prawns cook quickly; they will become rubbery if they are overcooked. You will know when the prawns are cooked when they are white with orange stripes in appearance.

The sauce can be done two ways, either with cream or without cream. If you wish to make a cream sauce, omit the lemon juice as the acidity in lemons will curdle the cream. In this case, if you wish to add freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end, omit the cream.

If you wish to prepare the cream sauce, you can add vegetables such as spinach and mushrooms.

Best for…

Winter nights, dinner parties, comfort food