Prawn and Pea Pasta Under 20 Minutes

Prawn and pea pasta, a true store cupboard and freezer dinner that manages to feel like a treat, despite cooking in under 20 minutes!

A bit of smoky chilli flavour from chipotle chilli flakes, garlic and just a hint of lemon juice round out the simplest of dishes.

Quick Shrimp and Pea Pasta

The ingredients in this glorious prawn and pea pasta recipe are pretty much a staple in our house.

Prawns and peas live in the freezer, and this recipe unashamedly screams about the magic of what I think are the two best freezer ingredients.

We always have pasta, garlic, lemon juice and chilli peppers knocking around and that is all this recipe needs aside from a little salt and pepper and basil… if you have it.

For all its utility it still tastes and looks like a special meal as far as I am concerned!

A bag of frozen peas may not scream pasta at you but I put the two together ALL of the time.

Whether it be in my salmon and pea pasta recipe or my pea pesto pasta I love the sweet fresh summery flavour they add to pasta dishes. It’s almost like summer all year around.

As for prawns with pasta… well, it’s simply a classic! I have other examples like my fennel and squid ink spaghetti with prawns, prawn pesto pasta and prawn and chorizo pasta stand out as particularly good.

If seafood pasta is your mojo, you will love my classic spaghetti vongole recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 20 minutes timing include defrosting prawns and peas?

Absolutely, I never bother defrosting either prawns or peas in advance. The best way to defrost prawns and indeed peas is to drop them in a colander and run cold water over them, it will take around 5 minutes.

You need to do this with running water though! You cannot just place them in cold water because it will turn into a big fishy ice cube.

Do I have to use chipotle chilli flakes?

No, not at all. This recipe works really well with regular dried chilli flakes, or without them if you are averse to chilli spice.

However, chipotle chilli flakes add a wonderful smokiness to the dish as well as a bit of heat. I even use it in some of my Chinese fakeaway dishes, most notably my Szechuan beef stir fry.

Can I use a different pasta?

Yup… I would stick with something long and if it has a bit of width even better.

Fettuccine or tagliatelle would be my first choice, but you can also use linguine or even spaghetti. Large conchiglie are also a bit of fun.

What size prawns should I use?

Generally speaking, I think bigger is better for prawns, but for this recipe, I prefer a little smaller because it makes the dish easier to eat. I usually opt for size 20-30 in this instance.

Serving Suggestions

Like many a pasta dish this pasta with prawns and peas recipe stands well all on its own. Other than a glass of wine of course!

However, you will get a beautiful layer of dressing or sauce in the base of your bowl when you have finished.

You absolutely must mop this up with some bread. This is called “fare la scarpetta” in Italian which translates to “make the little shoe”.

My favourite bread for doing this, no matter the pasta, is ciabatta, which amusingly enough can be translated as slipper.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
• 30cm or 12″ frying pan.
• Colanders or sieves.
• Stirring and serving spoons or kitchen tongs.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Weighing scales and or measuring jug, cups and spoons.