Creamy Prawn, Mushroom and Spinach Linguine

Name: Creamy Prawn, Mushroom and Spinach Linguine
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Quick & Easy, Under 30 Minutes, Weeknight Dinner, Date Night, Italian, Light & Fresh, Simple, Savory, Garlicky, Light, Creamy, Dinner, Main Course
Ingredients: 500 g linguine; 135 g king prawns; 200 g chestnut mushroom (sliced); large bunch spinach; 2 clove garlic (sliced); 125 g white wine; 150 g double cream / heavy cream; 50 g butter; to taste salt; to taste pepper

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Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

From Craig Humphreys's locker

A quick and easy pasta dish made with chestnut mushrooms, spinach and prawns coated in a buttery sauce.

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

500 glinguine

135 gking prawns

200 gchestnut mushroom (sliced)

large bunchspinach

2 clovegarlic (sliced)

125 gwhite wine

150 gdouble cream / heavy cream

50 gbutter

to tastesalt

to tastepepper

Method Nutrition Variations

Method

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta according to packet instruction.

You're aiming to get your pasta and sauce to finish at about the same time - see notes below for tips on how to do this

Melt the butter in a large frying then add the garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms to the pan with a little salt and pepper and cook for a further 4-5 minutes until softened and golden.

Pour in the white wine and reduce for about 3 minutes, allowing the alcohol to evaporate.

Stir in the cream and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat add the prawns and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the prawns are pink.

Once your pasta is cooked, add the spinach and allow to wilt slightly - avoid over cooking it as it will become bitter. Finally add the pasta to the pan, you can add a little of the pasta water to the linguine to help the sauce coat the pasta if you wish.

About Creamy Prawn and Spinach Linguine

I really like dishes like this, they are creamy and buttery without being drenched in cream (don't get me wrong that's great too!), instead the sauce coats the linguine making it lighter giving the prawns and mushrooms a chance to shine. If you prefer a creamier sauce though, go for it; simply add a little more cream and loosen the sauce with some of the pasta cooking water at the end.

I've opted for chestnut mushrooms (brown mushrooms) here, but you could easily substitute them for close cup (white mushrooms) or similar, just make sure they are thinly sliced. For the prawns, I like larger king prawns, but that's not strictly necessary, but if using smaller shrimp you just need to be a little more careful as its easier to overcook them and make them tough.

How do I get my sauce and pasta to finish together?

One of the most difficult parts of cooking this type of pasta dish is how quickly everything comes together, so timing your pasta to finish cooking around the same time as your sauce can be a bit of a challenge, however, you shouldn't panic about it, they should roughly end at the same time, but you might need to make a few adjustments as you go along.

If you're cooking this for the first time, or following the recipe, you're naturally going to take a little longer to make your sauce, I would aim to start boiling the pasta while you're cooking your mushrooms.
If you finish your sauce early, just turn off the heat and wait for the pasta to complete.
Avoid adding your spinach to the sauce until the pasta is complete - even if you finish early - otherwise it will go soggy and bitter.
If you finish your pasta first, drain it, you might want to reserve a little cooking water to add to your sauce at the end, then set aside until your sauce is complete

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