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The asparagus season has officially started here – yay! (You can get organic asparagus now from Riverford Organic Vegetables.) This recipe is one of Peter’s (hubby’s) favourites – he loves the clean sharp tastes of the chilli and lemon combined with the herbs and seafood (he is Australian, so no surprises there). Gluten-free pasta needs more liquid in the sauce than traditional kinds, so I’ve added fish stock, lemon juice and olive oil. It’s still a fairly minimalist sauce, but enough liquid and flavours to work well with the pasta. You could use other types of seafood such as cooked prawns, crab or squid, and you could use different herbs, too, such as coriander or mint. And if you have home-made fish stock, it will add a delicious depth of the flavours. This recipe from my new book, Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free is so super-easy – just perfect for a holiday weekend like this one, when you want to enjoy gorgeous food without any hassle. Happy Easter!

gluten-free, dairy-free, soya-free, egg-free, nut-free, seed-free

Serves 4 Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 15 minutes

• 2 shallots, halved
• 1 red chilli, halved and deseeded
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 strips of lemon zest
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 350g/12oz gluten-free pasta
• 350g/12oz asparagus, woody ends removed and stalks cut into thirds
• 100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup gluten-free & dairy-free fish stock or stock made from gluten- and dairy-free stock powder
• 350g/12oz crayfish tails
• 1 large handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• juice of ½ lemon, plus lemon quarters to serve
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the shallots, chilli, garlic and lemon zest in a mini food processor or spice mill and blend until finely chopped, making sure the zest is coarsely chopped.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and stir in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the pasta and cook over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes, or according to the instructions on the packet, until soft. Make sure you stir occasionally to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick. Drain and rinse well with freshly boiled water, then drain again.
3. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of the remaining oil over a medium heat. Add the shallot mixture and fry, stirring, for about 1 minute until starting to turn golden. Add the asparagus and stir well. Fry for another minute, then add the fish stock. Cook, covered, for 4 minutes, then add the crayfish. Cook for another 2 minutes until the asparagus is tender but still slightly crunchy.
4. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and mix well. Add the parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately with lemon quarters for squeezing over.