Pasta with Rocket Pesto and Red Shrimp

A light pasta dish, simple to make, revisited, because I propose a rocket pesto without cheese, but which will be very good if you use selected raw materials possibly at KM 0, purchased from your selected "suppliers" of happiness.

For this dish there are few but essential tips: the first is to toast the almonds for the pesto so that they can release all their aromas. The second is the usual one and that is to use EXCELLENT raw materials starting from a Gragnano DOP pasta, Extra Virgin EVO Oil, very fresh prawns, possibly red from Mazara del Vallo, excellent quality almonds and possibly wild rocket.

The last tip is for the pesto and that is to taste the raw rocket to understand its degree of "bitterness" and adjust accordingly, putting more or less in the pesto according to the taste.

For pasta:
350 gr of Gragnano Dop pasta (my daughters like rigatoni or fusilli)
400 gr of Fresh Red Prawns, possibly from Mazara del Vallo DOP
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Coarse salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

First, preheat the oven to 200 degrees to toast the almonds. Then, take the almonds and place them on the baking tray of the oven, which you will have covered with parchment paper before, and bake for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check that they do not burn and when they are golden, turn off the oven. Then rinse the rocket with plenty of water and put the rocket, toasted almonds, a drizzle of oil and a little lemon juice (this will help not to blacken the pesto) in a mortar or in the glass of the hand blender. and emulsify until obtaining a pesto with a creamy consistency.

Put a large pot of water to cook the pasta without salt (you will add salt when it boils). While you wait for it to boil, peel the prawns, remove the intestines and cut most of them into small pieces, keeping some whole for the garnish of the dish. If you want, with the heads you could prepare a concentrated comic to add when you toss the pasta in the pan to give it more flavor, but you can also avoid it so as to keep it simple.
When it boils, lower the pasta and when it is al dente, put it in a pan to whisk it with a ladle of cooking water and a few tablespoons of pesto. Once sautéed, with the heat off, add the shrimp in pieces and whole, a little extra virgin olive oil and a nice grind of fresh pepper (if you like).

Let it rest for a few minutes so that the prawns take a little heat and give the dish flavor.