Macaroni and prawns in warm olive and basil vinaigrette

• Recipe from Feel Good Food by Tony Chiodo (Hardie Grant Books, 2012)

  

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  400 g (14 oz) macaroni
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 200 g (7 oz) green prawns (shrimp), shelled and deveined
• ¼ red (Spanish) onion, diced
• sea salt
• ½ tomato, diced
• 8 pitted green olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons torn purple basil leaves

This dish can be served warm but is also excellent served chilled as a salad. If you feel inclined, go ahead and substitute 200 g (7 oz) of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for the prawns (shrimp), but make sure that you cook them well or cheat and throw in half a can of organic chickpeas instead! Try to search out good-quality, handmade Italian macaroni from your local delicatessen. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8–9 minutes, or until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté the rosemary and garlic for 1 minute. Add the prawns and cook for 3 minutes, then add the onion with a pinch of sea salt and sauté for a further 3 minutes. Once the prawns are cooked and have changed colour, add the tomato and olives. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar, and a pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Keep the sauce warm while you drain the macaroni. Toss the macaroni thoroughly into the sauce to coat evenly.  Add the basil leaves and serve.
Serves 4

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