Recipe of linguine with prawns, aubergines and oregano flowers paired with Stefano Cola's Franciacorta DOCG

La pasta with scampi is amazing, so today I want to give you my recipe for the linguine with scampi in white, aubergines, shallots and oregano... with a nice Franciacorta to match! Unfortunately, I couldn't find any excellent scampi so I decided to use these prawns which were really great. You can freely substitute langoustines and prawns in the recipe, as they have similar organoleptic characteristics. If you prefer, you can make spaghetti with scampi, as long as you use the biggest ones you can find!

People who know me ask me how I can smell and taste food so much, and I think it has to do firstly with the fact that I have smelled everything since I was a child, and secondly with the fact that I got used to eating without added salt because my dad had high blood pressure and when I still lived at home with my parents we were very careful... so in honour of Father's Day, I decided to create this recipe... healthy and light and therefore suitable for everyone (except those allergic to shellfish).

This recipe also has another gift: it's really cheap! To prepare it for two people costs less than €5... unbelievable, isn't it?

Linguine with scampi: Ingredients for 2 persons (medium hungry, can serve as a single dish!)

• 200 grams of Afeltra linguine (absolutely don't use any other because you won't get the same result! The starch distribution, texture and thickness of this pasta is extraordinary!) - I paid 1.55 € for the packet so that's 0.62 €.
• 1 shallot - I paid 4 shallots 0.89 €, so one shallot costs 0.22 €
• 90 grams of aubergine fillets - I paid 280 grams 1.15 €, so this quantity costs 0.38 €
• 8 langoustines or 8 Argentine prawns - I paid 400 grams 4.99 € (on offer) and there were 12 in all so that's 3.32 €
• 4 slices of lard cut very thin - I paid 100 grams 0.99 €... 4 slices must have been 0.10 €
• floral flowers Koppert Cress 6 pieces - I don't know how much they cost because I have a small sample that I discovered in gluttonous identities... in fact now I want to find out how to get some more because they are amazing!
• fresh oregano to taste
• pepper to taste

Linguine recipe: Preparation

1. Put on the water for the pasta. In the meantime, wash the aubergine fillets well (I used those in sunflower oil) and remove the black intestines from the shrimps and shell them, leaving 2 whole (head and all);
2. Cut the shallot into very thin slices and stew it with a little boiling water (the one you put on for the pasta), then pan-fry the aubergines with the shallot for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
3. Blanch the prawns 2 minutes per side, then keep the whole prawns and 2 others and wrap them in the 4 thin slices of lard, while the other 4 are cut into fairly small pieces;
4. As soon as the water boils, salt and throw in the linguine and let it boil for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put the 6 shrimp heads in the pan with a ladle of boiling water (that of the pasta). Add the linguine and risotto, adding a ladle of boiling water every time the water is about to dry up until the end of cooking. Add a grating of black pepper and fresh oregano to taste.
5. Remove the heads of the shrimps, add the aubergine and shallot mixture and the chopped shrimps and another ladle of boiling water. When the water is about to dry add more and then when it dries again it is ready. Remember to taste for the consistency of the pasta!
6. Place in a white dish and add the oregano flowers and the whole prawns you have kept warm.

Easy, isn't it? If you've never risottoed pasta before, it might seem a bit complicated right away, but as you get the hang of it, it's really easy! And the result is guaranteed! What's more, this type of cooking allows you not to add salt to the sauce because the pasta water is already salted. Risottare pasta creates that beautiful creamy sauce which is nothing but the fruit of the starches, and this is why I insist on top quality Gragnano pasta like Afeltra!

The linguine with langoustines has a strong sweet tendency due to the shrimps, shallots and aubergines and a distinct aromaticity derived from the oregano and its flowers, which is why I paired it with a Franciacorta DOCG Millesimato non dosed by Cola Battista.

This wine is a beautiful intense golden yellow, with a fine and persistent perlage, the nose is of bread crust and in the mouth it goes down soft and buttery. When I visited Stefano Cola at the winery, he disgorged a bottle of the new vintage, 2011, and I was moved! I only want to drink Franciacorta freshly disgorged, without additions *_*

Happy Father's Day to my beloved daddy even though he's away now and you can't eat either linguine with scampi or linguine with prawns... but since we're connected by the thread of the heart if I eat it, it's the same thing, right? 😀

See you soon and leave me a comment if you like to tell me if you have tried making this recipe or if you liked it!

Chiara

All my notes on wine and food in one book.