Linguine with Prawns and Lemon

I came home from Ischia with three giant lemons and lots of ideas of what to do with them. The lemons grown in Ischia are a giant kind that seems to also be famous in nearby Sorrento. I mean, I’m really not kidding – look at the size of them!

They’re very flavourful and not too sour. My first thought was pasta. I was going to recreate the lemon linguine I had by the beach. Of course, scampi (they looked like what we know as langoustines) are difficult to come by and my little supermarket only had cooked prawns. They would have to do. And they did fine! I love how refreshing the lemon is, especially in the recent hot weather. I didn’t manage to get as much liquid as they had in the dish I had in Ischia but I’m confident that this is just some of the pasta water added to the sauce.

Of course, if you don’t have the giant lemons, a regular lemon will do!

Linguine with Prawns and Lemon
serves 2.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
zest from 1 regular lemon or 1/2 a huge lemon
juice from the lemon
200g cooked prawns
250g linguine
2 tbsps butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
basil

Set a pot of water to boil and then boil your linguine until al dente.

The sauce will come together in a snap. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic and watch it sizzle. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and the prawns and let the prawns heat through. Take off the heat and melt in the butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if you feel it’s necessary.

Add the linguine and toss through with some torn basil and serve.