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Creamy Lemon Garlic Prawn Tagliatelle

Tender king prawns and ribbons of tagliatelle in a light, creamy lemon and garlic sauce made with half-fat crème fraîche, finished with Parmesan and plenty of parsley. 31g of protein, on the table in 25 minutes.

Dinner

25

Serves 4

A plate of tagliatelle in a light creamy lemon garlic sauce topped with pink prawns, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 300g/10½oz dried egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (or wholewheat, for extra fibre)
  • 400g/14oz raw peeled king prawns (shrimp), defrosted if frozen
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic (about 12g), finely chopped
  • A pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
  • 150g/5oz/⅔ cup half-fat crème fraîche
  • 1 unwaxed lemon: finely grated zest and 4 tsp (20ml) juice
  • 20g/¾oz Parmesan, finely grated, plus a little to serve
  • 15g/a large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • A pinch of salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet, usually 10 to 12 minutes. Before draining, scoop out a mugful (about 150ml/⅔ cup) of the cooking water.
  2. Meanwhile, pat the prawns dry. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the prawns for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until they are pink all over and opaque all the way through. Lift onto a plate.
  3. Lower the heat, add the garlic and chilli flakes, if using, to the pan and cook for 1 minute without letting the garlic brown.
  4. Stir in the crème fraîche, lemon zest and 4 tbsp of the pasta water and heat gently for 1 minute, without letting it boil.
  5. Add the drained pasta, prawns, lemon juice and Parmesan and toss over a low heat for 1 minute, adding a splash more pasta water if needed to make a silky sauce. Season with the pinch of salt, if needed, and pepper, and stir in most of the parsley.
  6. Serve straight away, scattered with the remaining parsley and a little more Parmesan. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat gently until piping hot.

Why it works

A plate has about 31g of protein for 480 calories. King prawns are very lean, with roughly 15 to 20g of protein and around 1g of fat per 100g raw, depending on the brand.

A lighter creamy sauce. Half-fat crème fraîche has far less fat than double cream (heavy cream). Lower-fat versions can split if boiled hard, so keep the heat gentle once it goes in. A splash of starchy pasta water helps it cling to the pasta, so you need less.

Do not overcook the prawns. Prawns turn rubbery quickly. Cooking them first and adding them back at the end keeps them tender: they are done as soon as they are pink and opaque all the way through.

Lemon and garlic. Lemon zest gives a fresh flavour without extra fat, and garlic and a little Parmesan add plenty of savoury depth.

Not tagged for blood sugar, because the pasta brings most of the 54g of carbohydrate; wholewheat tagliatelle adds extra fibre. Contains crustaceans, wheat, egg and milk. For other seafood dinners, try the garlic prawn and spinach stir-fry or the Thai green prawn curry.