garlic prawn and asparagus farfalle salad

… it’s potentially summer in the UK… don’t laugh but we’ve now been assured by the met office that July will be a ‘warm’ month with little or no rain.  As you can imagine most brits are jumping up and down with glee… I guess we’ll have to just wait and see. In the meantime The Viking and I have managed to escape to Spain for a stolen week… not that i begrudge my fellow brits a bit of sunshine and warmth but I think I prefer going away when I know it’s gloomy at home… it makes your tan just that teeny bit more enviable…

… so here’s a quick post I created just before departing the fair island I call home for another island in the med…

garlic prawn and asparagus farfalle salad
one thing the late summer has meant is that many crops are delayed or even extended slightly and this can only be a good thing… with british asparagus still on all the supermarket shelves it really marks an extra long culinary summer for me and this quick and fresh pasta salad can be made well in advance and left to cool in the fridge… it makes for a fabulous light lunch or a creamy addition to a more meaty meal… the dish can easily be made vegetarian as the first few stages are all done pre garlic prawns…

500g farfalle pasta
1 bunch fresh asparagus
1 tablespoon Total Greek Yoghurt
1 teaspoon horseradish sauce
the juice and zest of one orange
250g shrimp or prawns
2 cloves garlic crushed
100g butter

bring the pasta to a boil and about 3 minutes before its ready throw in the asparagus, drain well and set aside to cool

on a very low heat melt the butter in a small pan and throw in the crushed garlic and some lemon thyme if you have some and let the garlic melt a little… after about 4 minutes throw in the prawns and stir whilst they cook for another 4 mins… set aside to cool

mix the yoghurt, horseradish and orange juice in a bowl and once everything has cooled combine all together in a big bowl and chill for at least an hour.

serve with some leaves and some chive flowers

eat and of course enjoy!