Soft Pink

Nothing beats a bowl of pasta on a Friday night, after a tough week of long working hours and roller-coaster pregnancy hormones. When on top of it you have to feed 4 people, there is really no better and more pleasurable way out.

As usual in this type of situation, I turn to one of my food oracles, if not the one and only: Nigella. Given that the guests were Italians, why not offer them something of their homeland flavor? So, here we go, as easy as a breeze: pink pasta aka "Prawn Pasta Rosa". Trust me, it works.

All you need, - besides love - is a packet of De Cecco linguine or fettuccine, a handful of soft pink shrimps (I prefer, by far, the raw ones to cook in a flash at home, but time being of essence, this time I bought the already cooked ones...), a spoonful of mascarpone, a splash of marsala and one of milk and a spoonful of tomato purée.

While the pasta cooks - don't forget the salt - mix in a bowl the tomato purée, the mascarpone, marsala, and milk. If you have to and the already cooked pink beauties from the sea, then I would throw them in too. So the sauce is ready. No fuss. 

Uncooked prawns though would need a more glamorous treatment in a hot oily pan (you can add chilli flakes too for extra boost) for a few minutes. Add the marsala and set them aside.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, tip the sauce and cooked prawns on top, mix well and start smiling, blissfully conscious of the delicate pink supper you are about to bring to the table.

(The original recipe comes from this book.)