Easy, delicious, and beautiful– this pasta dish is the perfect recipe for a comforting Sunday night dinner.  It comes from Skye McAlpine’s new cookbook A Table In Venice, which is a mouthwatering collection of recipes celebrating her great love of Venice, the city she calls home.

 

 

 

Tagliolini with Shrimp, Zucchini, and Saffron

serves 4

 

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 medium zucchini, roughly chopped

10 ounces/300 grams jumbo shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined

3 tablespoons/50 ml dry white wine

1/3 cup/100 ml light cream

14 ounces/400 grams tagliolini (or any long, thin pasta!)

 

Method

Use a pestle and mortar to grind the saffron threads and a small pinch of salt into a fine powder.

Fill a large saucepan with water and salt it generously.  Set the pan on high heat and bring to a boil while you cook the shrimp, zucchini and saffron.

Drizzle the olive oil into a large frying pan set over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the zucchini and cook, stirring , until they begin to colour, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the shrimp and wine and cook, stirring, until the wine has largely evaporated and the shrimp have started to turn pink, 2 to 3 minutes.  When all the wine has evaporated, add the saffron.  Stir well, pour in the cream, and remove the pan from the heat.  Season with a little slat to taste.

Add the tagliolini and cook al dente as per the instructions on the package.  Just before you drain the pasta, scoop 1/2 cup of the cooking water out of the pot and set to one side.  Drain the pasta in a colander, return it to the saucepan, and add the saffron sauce and – little by little – the reserved cooking water.  Toss well and eat immediately, while still warm.