Barilla Tagliatelle with Artichokes, Prawns & Saffron Recipe: Quick & Easy Weeknight Dinner

I always love trying to cook new pasta dishes at home as pasta is such a versatile product with flavours you can experiment with. I tried Barilla’s new Tagliatelle egg pasta which is now available from Woolworths. It is a little different to the other Barilla pasta I’ve used. It’s finer and cooks a lot quicker ie in 5 minutes. Tagliatelle all’Uovo pasta range is said to have been inspired by the hair of Lucrezia Borgia, Pope Alexander VI’s daughter dedicated to her by a poetic and skilful chef. There’s just below 30% egg which makes it rich and silky very close to fresh pasta and also makes it a perfect cook-at-home weeknight dinner option given preparation time is halved. Be sure not to overcook the pasta and stick with the time as per the instructions on the packet. Your pasta should be light and springy and with enough bite to stand up to the fennel and the prawns.

Instead of using artichoke as set out in the recipe, which is not in season yet I used fennel as a substitute which I thought also works well with this dish. Gives it a good bite. So here is the recipe I tried tonight and it’s a light, quick, easy, healthy meal to prepare in 20 minutes perfect for weeknights after work.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 people

INGREDIENTS:

 250g Barilla Egg Tagliatelle

80g shallots, chopped

60g guanciale or Speck, thinly sliced

20g capers

16 prawn tails, peeled (I had Mooloolaba XL green raw ocean king prawns supplied by Northside Seafood Suppliers from Sydney Fish Markets)

0.2g saffron

½ glass of white wine

6 artichokes in oil, cut in to 6

2 roma tomatoes, cut in 0.5 cm cubes

1 bunch parsley, chopped

80ml extra virgin olive oil

Rock salt, for pasta water

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Bring plenty of salted water (7g of salt to 1 lt of water) to the boil.
2. Gently heat a little olive oil in a fry pan and when it’s hot, sauté the guanciale and prawn tails for 2 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove the prawns from the heat and keep aside.
3. Add the shallots, capers and artichokes and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the saffron and wine and allow the wine to evaporate.
4. Drop the Tagliatelle in to the boiling water, don’t stir for the first 2 minutes, and cook according to the instructions on the packet.
5. Drain the pasta one minute before the suggested cooking time.
6. Add the pasta to the fry pan with the artichokes and add the prawns. Toss together over the heat for a further minute.
7. Remove the pasta from the heat and add the parsley and tomatoes. Top with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil.