I’m a big fan of the Shrimp Primavera at The Olive Garden, a restaurant we often visit on trips to the US.  As we don’t have the Olive Garden chain here in England yet, I invented my own version. It’s creamier than the one at the Olive Garden, but I love the fresh flavour of the peppers, the kick of the balsamic vinegar and the way it enhances the shrimp.

My shortcut is to use frozen cooked shrimp, but if you would rather use fresh and cook them yourself there is no reason not to. After you cook them, you can add them to the sauce just before serving. The most important thing is to buy shrimp that have been sustainably fished, whether they are fresh or frozen.

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, to taste

3 red, green, orange or yellow peppers (or any combination thereof), deseeded and cut in chunks

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2½ to 3 cups tomato sauce

(homemade is best, but I have used sauce from a jar when I am in a hurry)

2 generous tbsp pesto (again homemade or from a jar is fine)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or fresh, finely chopped oregano)

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 pound dried pasta

(I like to use penne for this, and you can use whole wheat pasta if you like it.

2 to 3 cups of thawed cooked shrimp (the large ones are best for this)

½ cup sour cream or crème fraiche

(you can use light or reduced fat versions if you prefer)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium to low heat and gently sauté the onion until it begins to become translucent.  Grate the garlic into the pan and cook for a couple minutes.

Briefly turn up the heat and splash in the balsamic vinegar. Stir constantly and allow the onions and garlic to take it up, but don’t let them burn.

Lower the heat and stir in the tomato sauce, pesto, the bay leaf, oregano and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes while you cook the pasta in lots of boiling salted water according to package directions. 

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and keep it warm. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and add the cooked prawns and the sour cream or crème fraiche. Stir gently and heat through for two to three minutes.

Serve the sauce over the pasta. It’s not strictly Italian because they don’t really do cheese with seafood, but this is really nice with a bit of grated parmesan cheese.

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