Tarragon pesto pasta with peas and prawns recipe

Tarragon pesto pasta (opens in new tab) with peas and prawns is a fresh and flavourful twist on a classic pesto pasta. We’ve used Conchiglioni, giant pasta shells, to serve our tarragon pesto with. Tarragon has a very distinct flavour that is sharp and punchy, and makes this pesto just a bit different. Using peas gives a really vivid green colour to the tarragon pesto, making for a simple pasta dish that both tastes great and has a beautiful appearance. Making your own pesto is so easy, and gives results that are much fresher and more flavourful than shop bought, and avoids any artificial ingredients and additives. Using good quality olive oil will help give your tarragon pesto a really deep and rich flavour. Juicy jumbo king prawns work so well with this pasta, but you could try using cooked chicken if you prefer, or omitting to make this tarragon pesto pasta suitable for vegetarians, just be sure to use a vegetarian Parmesan.

Ingredients

• 200g Conchiglioni rigate pasta shapes
• 300g frozen king prawns, defrosted

For the pesto

• 150g peas
• 1 bunch tarragon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 30g Parmesan, finely grated
• juice of a lemon
• 175ml olive oil
• fresh basil leaves and extra Parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the Conchiglioni pasta according to packet instructions, about 15 minutes. 5 minutes before the end, toss the defrosted king prawns in the pan to cook with the pasta for the last few minutes.
2. Pour boiling water over the peas and leave for a few minutes to defrost completely, then drain. Blitz the peas together with the tarragon, garlic, parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss through the pasta and prawns, top with fresh basil leaves and a little extra parmesan.