Spaghetti with Prawns and Chilli
Posted: 28 September '09 by Niall
Spaghetti and prawns
This easy pasta supper is probably the meal that’s made most often in our house, and is great for during the week when you’re not in the mood to spend too long in the kitchen after a long day at work.
Also known as “picchi-pacchi spaghetti with prawns and chilli”, the dish is a Sicilian specialty (the further south you go in Italy, the most prevalent the chilli becomes in the local dishes).
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500g dried spaghetti (i.e. one packet)
- 250g of pomodorino tomatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil (and some more the drizzle over the finished dish)
- 3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 medium-hot red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- A good handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (don’t use the dried stuff!)
- 350g uncooked and peeled king prawns
- Parmesan to grate over the dish (entirely optional)
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions, until al dente
- Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees
- Take each prawn and run a sharp knife down the back of the prawn, removing any black “thread” that is there and opening the prawn up
- Drizzle some olive oil on a roasting dish and place your prawns on the dish, sprinkling them with a little black pepper
- Gently roast the prawns in the oven until their flesh has turned pink – it’s important not to overcook the prawns at this point otherwise you’ll be left with a dry, tough prawns that really aren’t that pleasant to eat
- Meanwhile, working over the sink, gently squeeze and burst the tomatoes to rid them of most of their seeds, then roughly chop
- Shortly before the spaghetti is ready, heat the oil in a pan over a low heat
- Add the garlic and red chillies and sweat gently until the garlic has become slightly translucent
- Add the tomatoes and increase the heat slightly, cooking gently for 30 seconds until heated through and just starting to break down
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
- Drain the spaghetti well and return to the pan. Add the tomato mixture, prawns and chopped basil
- Toss together until the sauce is thoroughly mixed through the pasta, and plate up
- Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over the grated parmesan cheese, and serve
Wine Selection
The dish is light and full of seafood-sweetness and zingy tomato, and deserves a similarly light, zesty accompaniment – a citrus-y Pinot Grigio would be perfect.
Other Information
“Picchi-pacchi” simply means a fresh, raw or barely cooked sauce.
We ALWAYS have a good Parmesan to grate over this dish, even though a true Italian would blanch if you suggested add Parmesan to a seafood dish.
Tags: italian food, pasta, Recipes, seafood
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes > Seafood
