Seafood linguine

This is one of my favourite meals at the moment – it’s nice and quick and it tastes absolutely divine. The mussels are a tiny bit fiddly but apart from that it’s a really simple meal to make.

 

This is a low fat, high protein meal full of omega-3, vitamins A, B12 & E, iron, selenium, iodine, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. If you want to be extra healthy you can omit the wine.

Preparation time 15 minutes. Cooking time 15 minutes.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

  • 300g linguine
  • 12 fresh mussels
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 red onion, peeled and diced
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ¾ tsp chilli flakes
  • 6 anchovy fillets finely chopped
  • 400g large cooked and peeled prawns (I use frozen)
  • 100ml white wine (optional)
  • 400g tin of cherry tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Finely grated parmesan
  • Flat leaf parsley, chopped

Remove the beard from the mussel by pulling it firmly down towards the hinged part of the shell until it comes out

Method

  1. Scrub the mussels well under cold running water and remove their beards.
  2. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions (I like mine al dente) and in a separate pan steam the mussels for 3 – 6 minutes, removing them from the pan as soon as they are open wide, and set them aside. Discard any mussels that aren’t fully open after 6 minutes of cooking.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add onion, garlic, chilli and anchovy fillets and stir for around 2 minutes.
  4. Increase the heat to high and add the prawns and white wine. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 3 minutes.
  6. Remove the cooked mussels from their shells and stir them into the tomato sauce. Season to taste.
  7. Drain the cooked pasta and serve immediately, topped with the seafood sauce and sprinkled with the parmesan and parsley. Serve with a green salad.