I prawnslike crustaceans in general, are a prized food that should be cooked as quickly as possible after removing the intestines to give us the best organoleptic sensations. Personally, I love them! Although they are very low in calories because they are mostly composed of water, it is good not to eat them often because of their high cholesterol content. Therefore, when buying them, it is even more important to cook them well! In this easy and fairly quick recipe, I am happy to suggest prawns with a wine to match: the Canevette brut sparkling wine from Ongaresca!
You probably landed on this page after googling "recipe king prawns" o "prawn pasta" because you want to surprise your guests with something different from the usual baked prawns... well you're in luck because to prepare this pasta with prawns pretty easy and delicious you need very few ingredients and half an hour!
Okkey you actually need these things too:
... or at least very similar equipment! For me, you cannot cook well without the tools you need to cook well... because cooking is yes heart but also (and above all) technique! As for the pasta pan and cutlery, I take it for granted that they are in all Italians' homes 😀
This recipe very much reflects my philosophy in the kitchen, which is based on three basic rules:
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- In the kitchen, when you have a quality ingredient, you throw away as little as possible... better nothing!
- "Less is more" as my beloved architect Mies Van Der Rohe used to say! Translated: the best dishes are made with as few ingredients as possible!
- Everything that goes into the dish must be edible and designed to add value to the recipedecoration for its own sake is fortunately outdated since the 1980s.
Apart from the pasta, only 4 ingredients (king prawns, cherry tomatoes, tropea onion and sparkling wine), 3 spices (chilli, pepper, sweet paprika), 2 seasonings (butter, oil), and an aromatic herb (lemon thyme) for a recipe with king prawns which I am sure you will fall in love with! With one recommendation: when cooking Argentine prawns, it is essential to cook and crush the head to take advantage of its tasty juices in the preparation of a delicious sauce of French origin known as bisque. If this gives you a bit of a fright... grit your teeth and give it a chance: I'm sure you'll love it! 😉
Ingredients for 2 diners
Ohibò, when I look at recipes from other cooking sites or food bloggers and read 320 grams of linguine or spaghetti in 4 I swear I get hungry... no but really? My grandmother taught me that with 80 grams of pasta you can barely feel if it's cooked... 😀 Joking aside, my policy is that I prefer to eat just that and get rid of my hunger... so half a packet of pasta in 2 is welcome!
- 250 grams of pasta (I like linguine from A feltra)
- 8 Argentine prawns
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- half a Tropea onion
- 1/2 glass of sparkling wine (the same as you will pair with the recipe) (approx. 100 ml)
- 2 nuts of butter
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small fresh chilli pepper
- 3/4 sprigs of lemon thyme
- hot water Q.B.
- sweet paprika Q.B.
- black pepper Q.B.
- coarse salt Q.B.
Procedure:
- Thinly slice the onion, cherry tomatoes and chilli;
- Put the 2 tablespoons of oil together with the onion and cherry tomatoes in a high-sided pan and stew for about 10 minutes;
- In the meantime, carefully clean the prawns, taking care to remove all the carapace and black intestine, possibly with the help of a toothpick, and keep the heads aside;
- Place the prawns in a clean bowl with a drizzle of evo oil, the lemon thyme and the sweet paprika and leave to marinate in the fridge for the time you finish preparing the bisque (take them out as soon as you take the bisque off the heat to blend it);
- Add the prawn heads to the onion and cherry tomatoes and deglaze with sparkling wine;
- put on the water for the pasta and when it boils add some coarse salt;
- Add 3 ladles of hot water to the mixture of shrimp heads, onion and cherry tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, taking great care that it does not stick in the pan (if you see that it has dried out too much, add more hot water!);
- Take the prawns out and place them in a non-stick pan with 1 knob of butter, a pinch of coarse salt and a grinding of black pepper and cook them on one side for 3 to 4 minutes;
- In the meantime, place the bisque in a high-sided plastic container (if you have a blender cup even better!) and blend with an immersion blender until fairly smooth (max. 3 minutes of cooking time for the prawns!);
- Turn the prawns over and let them cook on the other side for three to four minutes. In the meantime, strain the bisque with a strainer using a pestle or fork;
- Take the prawns off the heat and put the bisque back into the pan, season with salt, pepper and paprika and leave to reduce 5 minutes;
- Drain the pasta al dente (make sure it is about 4-5 minutes away from being perfectly cooked to your taste) and place it in the high-sided pan with the bisque to finish cooking;
- mantle with a knob of butter, serve by adding the prawns;
- bring to the table with love <3
As for the wine... I chose Ongaresca's brut sparkling wine 'Canevette' because its citrus note and almondy finish marry beautifully with the sweet tendency of the prawns. Moreover, this rich pasta requires an elegant, crisp and not too complex wine to give its best. Try it to believe 😉
Cheers
Chiara
P.S. Speaking of prawns... if you are studying to become a sommelier, I recommend reading these notes on the food and wine pairings of crustaceans by clicking HERE.
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