Guilt - Free Italian (part 1) - French beans with sun-dried tomatoes, feta and mozzarella, Linguine with prawns and rocket

French beans with sun-dried tomatoes, feta and mozzarella

French beans with sun-dried tomatoes, feta and mozzarella

Serves 4

·         400g fine French beans

·         70g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced

·         50g shelled walnuts

·         5tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·         1tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

·         130g feta cheese

·         2 buffalo mozzarella balls, drained and cut into chunks

·         Salt and pepper

1. Trim ½ centimeter from both ends of the beans, then cook in a large pan of boiling salted water of five minutes until al dente. Drain and place in a large bowl.
2. Lightly toss the hot beans with the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool
3. Once the beans have cooled, crumble in the feta and gently mix in the mozzarella. Serve immediately.

Top tip

This salad makes an ideal summer side dish. Make sure that the French beans are not overcooked and use a good-quality buffalo mozzarella

Linguine with prawns and rocket

Linguine with prawns and rocket

Serves 4

·         4tbsp olive oil

·         2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

·         50g pine nuts

·         1 medium-hot red chilli, finely sliced and desseded

·         300g large fresh prawns, peeled, heads removed

·         ½ glass dry white wine

·         3tbsp finely sliced fresh basil

·         500g linguine

·         100g rocket leaves

·         Salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and shallow-fry the garlic, pine nuts and chilli for about 20 seconds, then add the prawns and cook it all together for about one minute.
2. Add the wine and basil, season with salt and simmer over a high heat for about two minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until it’s al dente. Drain and add to the frying pan.
3. Return the pan to a high heat and immediately add in the rocket leaves; mix everything well for about one minute to allow the rocket to soften ever so slightly and the pasta to absorb all of the flavor. Serve immediately.

Top tip

Make sure you serve this dish as soon as you combine the pasta and sauce. You can substitute the prawns for scallops if you wish