Durbanville wine valley is celebrating a month of sauvignon blanc in October and I couldn’t be more excited! These easy drinking crisp white wines are often found at my table. Durbanville is a mere twenty minutes from Cape Town CBD and deserves a visit as much as its sister wine countryside’s Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The Durbanville region is filled with scenic routes, amazing award winning wine farms and superb restaurants.
So with October celebrating the richness of Sauvignon blanc and estates such as Altydgedacht, Bloemendal, D’Aria, Diemersdal, De Grendel, Durbanville Hills, Hillcrest, Klein Roosboom, Meerendal, Nitida, Groot Phizantekraal and Signal Gun each celebrating the start of white wine season in their own individual style, I had to create a dish that I believe celebrates these estates and their sauvignon blancs! The dish is rich and creamy and the acidity of the wine cuts through it perfectly. I have also chosen to pair the wines with seafood as it compliments the flavour well! This prawn pasta is beyond delicious and a great meal to feed a bigger crowd!
If you want to explore the region you can pop into any of the estates and experience a tasting! The month of festivities draw to a close at the end of October with a festival weekend on the 29th and 30th October. All twelve wine estates will be present and it will be a hive of activities for all family members.
Now let’s get down to business with my prawn pasta while you prepare to savour (hopefully) all 12 celebrated sauvignon blancs!
Serves 4, cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 300 grams rosa tomatoes, halved
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 400ml tomato pureé (I use the one in the glass jar)
- 1 packet linguine
- Salt
- 250 grams of cleaned and de shelled prawns, patted dry with paper towel.
- Knob of butter
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 200 grams mascarpone cheese
- 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions:
In a large frying pan over a medium heat add the coconut oil, rosa tomatoes and garlic. Fry until soft. Add the oregano and tomato pureé. Let simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat. If you would like you can feed it with a little water if it starts to dry out.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water generously. Add the linguine to the water and boil for 7-8 minutes. Do not over cook the pasta, as it will cook further in the sauce.
Once ready, remove and strain. Add the pasta to the frying pan with the tomato sauce.
In a separate smaller frying pan bring over a high heat add the knob of butter and garlic. Add the prawns and fry for 3 minutes. Don’t over cook the prawns as they will cook further in the pasta.
Fold the mascarpone into the pasta, add the prawns and spinach and fold until combined.
Zest the pasta and add the lemon juice before serving. Serve fresh and hot with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese!
-Melissa
*This blog post was sponsored by Durbanville wine valley. All opinions are my own.