Pimientos de Padrón, Linguine w. Prawns and Rocket

Following on with our quick 'n' easy to prepare evening meals ... this is what I served this evening as an Hors d’œuvre, Pimientos de Padrón, a very Spanish speciality. They can be quite spicy but there is no way of knowing until you eat them! Very simple to prepare, just put them in a pan with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and fry until soft and golden.

For a main course I attempted to copy a lunch I had with a girlfriend recently which was linguine with prawns, cherry tomatoes, and rocket. Very simple and quite delicious. In a cold pan, pour in a little olive oil and add a tablespoon or so of butter and, over a low heat, lightly sauté some cloves of garlic taking care that they don't brown. In the meantime cook some linguine in boiling salted water for approximately 11 minutes. Whilst the pasta is cooking, when the garlic has infused the oil with its wonderful aroma, turn up the heat under the pan, add a handful of cooked and shelled prawns, some halved cherry tomatoes, and cook until the prawns curl up with the heat and the tomatoes soften. Toss in the cooked pasta, a good handful of rocket, and serve immediately. Delicious!