Need a quick weeknight dinner the whole family will love? This is one of my girls' favorites. My wife loves the prawns and fresh produce and my daughter just loves pasta. As you can imagine, the garlic, white wine, and butter really add a nice touch too! I usually just serve my daughter the pasta and sauce and pick out the tomatoes and basil but every kid is different. Have them try it all!
A couple of notes from the kitchen:
- Make sure to butterfly your prawns. This will really make them puff up and give that real restaurant vibe. It's not a full butterfly, just take your paring knife and cut a slit on the back of the prawn (about a quarter of the way through) from the top to midway down the back. They will expand as they cook and look amazing.
- If you don't know how to chiffonade basil, check this out.
- If you're gonna be serving this to your littles, be careful with the amount of red pepper flakes you use, they are potent.
- This also works as a simple "date night recipe." It's fresh, it's easy, it's healthyish.
- Make sure to use fresh and ungrated parmesan or pecorino romano. A LOT of parm (the pre-shredded kind) will include an anti-caking agent that makes it hard to melt. And you DEFINITELY don't want to use the one out of the shaker. Save that for your pizza slice. Go fresh!
Marcus' Angel Hair Pasta With Prawns
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes.
1/2 cup stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
8-10 prawns. Get the pre-peeled and deveined kind to save yourself a lot of prep
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 basil leaves cut into a chiffonade
8oz Angel Hair pasta
3 TBSP Butter
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. Put shrimp in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle and mix in a pinch of salt.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add olive oil(about 2 tablespoons). Toss in the crushed garlic cloves and red pepper flakes. When the garlic becomes golden brown and fragrant on both sides, pull it out and toss (or eat if you get down with garlic like that). You now have yummy garlic oil! Add the shrimp and cook a max of 2 minutes per side. You DON'T want to overcook them. Pull the shrimp and place aside in a bowl for later.
3. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if needed. Toss in the cherry tomatoes (make sure to pick those stems off first!) and roll them around a bit to coat with oil, garlic and shallots. Let this cook for about a minute until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the chicken stock and white wine and scrape the brown bits off the pan with your spatula. Put the lid on and let it all cook for about 10 minutes (ok to keep checking!) until the tomatoes burst and release their juices into the pan. This is the MAGIC! Season with the salt as needed. Make sure you taste as you go. Be careful with too much salt as the cheese you add at the end will be salty as well.
4. Add the pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook per the directions. Drain the pasta and add save a half a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta directly to the pan with the tomatoes, shallots, etc. Turn off the heat and add the butter and half the cheese and a bit of the pasta water. Stir in the basil, season to your liking(make sure you taste your dish!) and serve immediately. Top with more cheese as needed! You know the drill.
4. Add the pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook per the directions. Drain the pasta and add save a half a cup of the pasta water. Add the cooked pasta directly to the pan with the tomatoes, shallots, etc. Turn off the heat and add the butter and half the cheese and a bit of the pasta water. Stir vigorously to help it emulsify and turn into a thicker sauce. Incorporate the shrimp to reheat them a little bit. Season to your liking with salt and pepper(make sure you taste your dish!) and serve immediately. Top with basil and more cheese as needed! You know the drill.
Enjoy!
Md