Chef Dario Cavaliere writes a weekly food column for the Waterford News & Star

IT can be tricky to cook prawns and many people are turned off cooking any dish that has prawns as they are afraid of overcooking the delicate prawn. However, it is really quite simple and the trick is to cook them last and add at the end. This way you can relax in the knowledge that everything else is cooked and the prawns will not over cook, and simply need a reheat through. If you want to give this dish a kick, then add a sliced red chilli when adding the tomatoes.

Serves 4

200g dried pasta ribbons

25g butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. tomato puree

200g tiger prawns

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

100ml white wine

Juice of ½ lemon

100g fresh baby spinach leaves

Chopped fresh parsley

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water according to pack instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a large pan and cook the prawns until browned on both sides, then remove the prawns from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic to the hot pan and cook for a minute before adding the white wine. Then add the tomato puree, chopped parsley and cook for a few minutes.

When the sauce is bubbling, add the cherry tomatoes and the lemon juice, followed by the cooked pasta and the cooked prawns. Mix well so that all the ingredients are well mixed, and the prawns have heated through.

Remove from the heat and mix in the washed baby spinach leaves, allowing the heat from the pasta cook the spinach. Serve in large bowls with grated Parmesan and a garnish of chopped flat leaf parsley.