Linguine with prawns, peas, ricotta, chilli and mint

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Linguine with prawns, peas, ricotta, chilli and mint An effortless pasta dish, starring juicy king prawns and crunchy almonds, that delivers a kick of fresh chilli Save Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 09 July 2026 2:36pm BST Save Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source A speedy summer meal option with fresh mint and peas Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 09 July 2026 2:36pm BST I just made this up because I had all the ingredients. It’s a great way to think about pasta in the summer: ‘What do I have and what will go together?’ Here, the ricotta contrasts with the heat of chilli, and the almonds – a much more important ingredient than you might think – bring crunch. Blot the prawns with kitchen paper before cooking so that they’re nice and dry – wet prawns will steam rather than fry.   Overview Prep time 10 mins Cook time 20 mins Serves 4 Ingredients 350g linguine 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing 2 garlic cloves, very finely sliced 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced 15g blanched almonds, coarsely chopped 150g peas, fresh or frozen 500g king prawns juice of ½ lemon 150g ricotta, roughly broken into chunks leaves from 8 sprigs of mint, larger ones roughly torn Method Step Put 350g linguine into a pan of boiling salted water and cook until al dente. Step While this is happening, heat 2 tbsp of the extra-virgin olive oil in a large frying pan.  Step Add 2 finely sliced garlic cloves and 2 finely sliced red chillies and cook until the garlic is pale gold. Lift out and into a bowl with a slotted spoon. Step Add 15g coarsley chopped blanched almonds to the frying pan and fry until golden.  Step Add these to the garlic and chilli.  Step Put 150g peas in the frying pan and, if they’re fresh, add 100ml water and cook until they’re tender, about 4 minutes. If they’re frozen add about 50ml water and cook them quickly, over a high heat, until the peas are tender.  Step Drain the peas and transfer to a bowl. Wipe out any liquid from the pan with kitchen paper. Step Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil in the pan and, over a high heat, cook 500g king prawns. Season as you go. The prawns are ready when they turn from grey to pink. Add the juice of ½ lemon. Step Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the prawns. Toss in the peas, garlic, chilli and almonds.  Step Transfer to a warm serving bowl and dot 150g ricotta chunks over the top. Season again – mainly for the ricotta – and add the leaves from 8 mint sprigs and a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil.  Step Serve immediately – mint goes black with heat so make sure not to add it to the hot pan but to the warm serving dish. Advertisement More Stories