Nick Vass at The Address Dubai Marina
‘This dish is great when you come home from work: toss a few things in the blender and boil some pasta, and you have a healthy dinner in less than 30 minutes. With more care and attention you can make the same dish into a masterpiece to show off to your friends. I was first introduced to this dish when I was a kid on holiday in Spain, in a small eatery we went to. The first portion was so good I had it the next three nights in a row. When I moved away from home, I used to cook this on the rare occasions I finished work early before I went out in the evenings.’

Ingredients

For the pasta
Dried squid-ink fettuccine pasta
12 good-sized tiger prawns, peeled and sliced in half
Extra virgin olive oil
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded/sliced
Half an onion, finely chopped

For the salsa verde
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful of gherkins pickled in sweet vinegar
6 anchovy fillets
2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 handful of fresh mint
1tbsp Dijon mustard
3tbsp red vinegar
8tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

1 First, make the salsa – finely chop all the herbs, anchovies, gherkins, capers and garlic very small bowl.

2 Place in a mixing bowl and stir in the mustard, vinegar and olive oil.

3 Season with the sea salt and pepper, then store in the fridge until needed.

4 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta – it will only need a few minutes to cook.

5 While it boils, heat a large frying pan to a medium heat and add a few good lugs of extra virgin olive oil. Add the prawns and cook slowly to keep them soft. Add the onion and let it soften, then add the chilli.

6 Once the pasta is almost cooked, remove it from the water, drain and add to the frying pan. Stir in a tablespoon of the salsa verde and mix everything together.

7 Serve in a large pasta bowl with freshly shaved parmesan scattered over the top.