Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Prawn and Spinach Cheesy Pasta Bake - Good for the Freezer or Wolf Down straight away

Would you believe I had some Cooked Prawns leftover last Thursday.
It may be that the beautiful Bluff oysters were so yummy, that we filled up on them
Also, in the fridge, there was an unopened bag of baby spinach 
Anyway, as usual…waste not want not
Almost a boring refrain... BUT it’s all true
Best way to get the most out of the prawns
Turn into a Pasta Bake, easy to freeze too
Now I know the Italians don't put cheese and seafood together
BUT the French do, so I am going the French way
If you are starting from scratch and your prawns are frozen
They are so easy to cook

Just toss the defrosted prawn tails with a slosh of Olive Oil
Some sea salt 
A grind of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 clove Garlic finely chopped
Grated zest of a lemon

Into a 200C oven for just 6 mins
Remove from the oven
Squeeze juice of 1 small lemon and mix 
Cool

Now back to the main dish
Enough to feed at least 6 People

Ingredients
2 cups  Cooked Prawns
2 cloves garlic chopped very finely
125 gms butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large cherry tomatoes chopped
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 cup flour
5 cups milk


1/2 cup grated cheese

2 cups cooked prawns and juices
Zest lemon

Juice half lemon
4 cups dry pasta of your choice
Penne or Orecchiette perhaps
Your choice

Topping
Extra grated cheese and
Fresh Breadcrumbs


Method
Melt butter in medium size pan
Gently sauté the garlic, till just cooked do not burn
Add  chopped tomatoes

Season with Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sauté about a minute and then add the spinach
Let it wilt
Add the flour to make a roux and stir, cook down for about 3-4 minutes
to get rid of the raw taste

Meanwhile heat the milk and add to the roux
Bring back up to a simmer, stirring so that it doesn't go lumpy
and it thickens up nicely

Let it simmer about 3-4 minutes,
stirring constantly, to stop from sticking to the bottom of the pan

Add the grated Cheese
Hooray a Mornay sauce is born
Throw in the Prawns, any juices, lemon zest and the lemon juice

Meanwhile cook  the pasta
till it is al dente
About 8 minutes
Drain and add to the sauce

Transfer to a ovenproof dish
Cover with extra grated cheese and some fresh breadcrumbs

This can now be frozen or cook straight away
180C oven for 20-25 minutes
Till top is golden and the sauce is bubbling
Delicious, Just enough for me in this  particular dish.
And these containers for the Freezer