Quick 15 minute Prawn Pasta

[Alexandria Profile]

This is a quick pasta for a quick main course ..

1 / 4 cup Italian Evoo
1 kilo of extra large prawns
2 large cloves of garlic left unpeeled and pressed through a garlic press
1/ 4 teaspoon crumbled dried horn shaped red chili pepper (guindillas )
1/2 Cup of dry White Italian Wine of choice
1 tsp. salt of choice to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black peppercorns
5 tablespoons of Alpine or French Butter
500 Grams of Angel Hair Pasta or Similar
Fresh Minced Parsley to suit

1) Bring your pasta pot with salted water to high simmer.
2) Heat the Evoo in a heavy skillet over moderate medium heat or flame until hot but not smoking and sauté the langostinos (prawns ).
3) Turn the prawns over once, and sauté until just cooked through, 2 minutes approx. and transfer to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.
4) Now add the garlic to the remaining Evoo and the crumbled horn shaped red chili peppers, the salt, the white wine and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
5) Now add the butter to the skillet and when melted, add the prawns .. And toss and remove from the heat or stove top.
6) Cook the pasta ( fresh or dry variety similar to angel hair ) according to package until al dente, tender but not mushy .. This is a very very fine pasta so, follow label instructions.
7) Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and then drain the pasta thoroughly, and toss the pasta with the prawns, and parsley mixture in the bowl and add a little of the reserved cooking liquid to keep moist ..

Simply lovely and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, and for those who are professionally full time employed, time is a key factor ..

Serve with hot bread of choice and white wine of choice .. Lovely little dish ..

[Suffs Profile]

1 kilo of extra large prawns is this restaurant quantities again?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

According to my calculations, 500 gms pasta will feed 4 people.
A kilo of prawns will feed 8 - 10 people and if you´re only going to serve about 50-60 gms of pasta per person, that´d make it a starter, not a main.

Personally, I´d also put more wine and garlic in that recipe; but that´s just me.

Would a kilo of Angel Hair work better, Member 461?

[Joanbunting Profile]

Please can I have just the prawns but with a lot more garlic, a squeeze of lemon or lime and some dill?

Also a kg od prawns - shell on or peeled? Not an inexpensive mid-week meal. I'm having real problems finding responsibly sourced shell fish like that at the moment

[patpoyntz Profile]

Well, I’d cook a kilo of unshelled langoustines for the two of us...and 200 gms or less of pasta. But we are greedy, and lagoustines are readily available locally.

[Alexandria Profile]

Joan,

In Spain, prawns are never in a shortage .. It is a staple ..

I do not like to peel my prawns ..

The shells provide exemplary flavor to the dish ..

Each to his / her own !

Garlic quantity or chili peppers are like salt, personal preferences come in ..

Thanks for the feedback ..

[Alexandria Profile]

Karakoolaide,

This lunch was for two .. And yes, we shared a kilo of prawns ! Always do ..

And the angel hair is so fine in texture .. We did not have a starter or cheese & fruit afterwards.

Just wine and some rustic country bread from our corner bakery ..

As mentioned to Joan, garlic, salt, chili peppers and spices are all according to personal preferences.

I never peel my prawns .. The shells provide an enormous amount of flavor to a dish ..

I peel when before eating only !

Have a nice day ..

[Alexandria Profile]

Suffs,

We eat a kilo of prawns all the time.

We rarely eat anything else with a pasta dish so this was simply perfect ..

Again, it is like salt or garlic, or spices, or chili peppers, it is about one´s personal preferences ..


Have a nice day.

[Alexandria Profile]

Pat,

Thank you for your feedback ..

Yes, in Barcelona or any other city on the Iberian Peninsula, prawns are commonfare ..

Never out of season ..

Have a nice day.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Prawns are readily available here too

But for a quick meal I would tend to use peeled prawns - not least because as I can't see them well I find it quite difficult to cope with a dish that has the shells mixed in with pasta or veg, though I'll happily eat a plate of Pat's langoustines with butter, aioli, or mayo to dip them in


This kind of seafood pasta is quite popular in the UK, though I'd tend to make it with linguine, all the TV cooks such as nigella and Jamie have similar recipes - though all seem to use peeled prawns, fresh or frozen

[Joanbunting Profile]

You are a very lucky person Member 461. I'd love a constant supply of prawns and the like. A kilo perhaps seems less of a marathon if they are still in their shells and yes, they do indeed add a depth of flavour.

I would have a problem quite apart from my dislike of pasta though. My dearest M simply wouldn't have the patience to peel them and by the time I did his mine would be cold

Do you eat sea urchins - we call them oursins in France? I absolutely love them but again M can't be bothered with getting into them. There was a gorgeous recipe in the Christmas edition of Saveurs. If my late friend was still living in Marseilles I would be sharing some with her.

[Renee Profile]

I am moving to Spain!

[dennispc Profile]

I am moving to Spain!

Good thinking Reneé, their life expectancy is good.

However, 1 kg prawns, shells on and crusty bread will do for me.

[Wic Profile]

This has just reminded me that, years ago, when I worked in Great Yarmouth, I used to buy shell-on prawns by the pint, they measured them in a pint mug, and we’d have them with crusty bread for supper, sitting on the hearth rug and throwing the shells into the fire! That was fun!

[Suffs Profile]

I buy local brown shrimps by the pint mug when we visit Cromer ... we can also get them from the fish stalls on Norwich market ... the flavour is wonderful what with the local prawns and the sweet Cromer crabs we're so spoilt in this part of the UK.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Visiting family in Hunstanton back in April we were really disappointed the crabs were shy & not out & about - those Cromer crabs will be bolder we thought when we went over, they'll be up & around, but nope, I can't tell you how disappointed we were!

We do eat a lot of crab - The Lushly has no problem cracking & dressing - same with king prawns which come from the fishmonger, so good when butterflied - we are very lucky down here on the south coast for fish/shellfish & I never take it for granted.

That recipe is so wrong on lots of levels......again!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Thinking about it I haven't had abalone for years - don't see or hear of it anymore & I absolutely love it.

[Suffs Profile]

Visiting family in Hunstanton back in April we were really disappointed the crabs were shy & not out & about - those Cromer crabs will be bolder we thought when we went over, they'll be up & around, but nope, I can't tell you how disappointed we were!
...

The Cromer crabs don't hang out on the beach .... they live way out where sandy beach gives way to a chalk bed full of holes and tunnels eroded by the water ... you can only see these rocks at the very low spring tides when you can walk out to them and marvel at the life in the rock pools (but watch for the tide coming in again) ... that's where the crab men lay their pots.

You can catch crabs with a line from Cromer pier, but almost without exception they'll be the little green shore crabs ... not the tasty brown crabs.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

This has just reminded me that, years ago, when I worked in Great Yarmouth, I used to buy shell-on prawns by the pint, they measured them in a pint mug, and we’d have them with crusty bread for supper, sitting on the hearth rug and throwing the shells into the fire! That was fun!

Until quite recently the shellfish people would come round the pubs in this part of London with huge wicker baskets and sell pints and half pints of prawns, cockles, whelks, and winkles to eat as nibbles with your drinks They also used to have little tubs of jellied eels

They often had a couple of shell fish stalls outside the bigger pubs on their manor, where you could buy additional stuff, including sometimes Cromer crabs


But the big thing on the Thames estuary, and into the East End an up through Essex is cockles - I like cockles but have trouble sharing them, as the traditions is to douse liberally with malt vinegar, salt and white pepper dust.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Reading back Suffs it does look like we were actually looking for the crabs lurking about in the water no...... what I meant was they were nowhere to be seen at cabins, resto's or markets - it was too early for them, so the fishermen said

Until quite recently the shellfish people would come round the pubs in this part of London with huge wicker baskets and sell pints and half pints of prawns, cockles, whelks, and winkles to eat as nibbles with your drinks They also used to have little tubs of jellied eels

I well remember & used to love those tubs Sue - happy days!