Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Seared Tiger Prawns in Prawl Oil Pasta


Oh hai!

Quick update but I'm actually blogging this from sunny (and humid) Malaysia! Here for a short trip to attend my cousin's wedding on Friday, so exciting. Been back for 2 days now and it's been great so far. Much eating of my childhood favourite foods and also spending lots and lots of quality time with the family, it's great.

Anyway, thought I'd share a recipe here since it's been awhile since my last one. I'm a huge lover of seafood and must say that this prawn pasta is honestly one of my favourite pasta dishes to eat. It's simple but got such a rich flavour from all the prawn heads and shells. Plus, I made sure I put LOTS of prawns in this.


One of the things I love most about cooking at home is how generous I can be with the ingredients. I can't stand it when I buy something at a restaurant and they totally skimp on the ingredients! Whether it's a seafood pasta with only 2 measly prawns, mango cake with mostly cream and no fresh mangoes, green flavour so weak that you can't even tell it's there, it's depressing, really. So, I really wanted to make sure there was an abundance of prawns in this. Plus, pasta is such a hearty and comforting dish so more is more, I say.

Anyway, you can tell that this is exactly the kind of pasta that I love to have. Easy to cook, abundance of seafood, great to share. I do hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!




Seared Tiger Prawns in Prawn Oil Pasta

(an original recipe, serves 4)


Ingredients

750g prawns
2 cups olive oil
4 sprigs thyme
5 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
500g spaghetti or linguine
1 1/2 cups chopped parsley (leaves only)
Cracked salt
More chilli flakes (to garnish)

Method

1. Remove all the shells and heads from the prawns and place them into a pot. Remove the veins from the prawns too and discard.

2. Add the 2 cups of olive oil, thyme, garlic and chilli flakes into the same pot with prawn shells. Bring the pot to a boil and once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to crush up all the shells and heads every 5 minutes to release more of the flavour into the oil. 

3. Heat up a separate pan on high with a tablespoon of butter and olive oil (the oil helps the butter to not burn). Once hot, add the peeled raw prawns in batches and sear on both sides until cooked through. If the pan is hot, it should only take about 30 seconds per side (you don't want overcooked prawns). Remove the prawns and reserve for later. 

4. Cook the pasta as per pasta instructions. Drain and set aside into a large bowl. Strain all the delicious oil into the bowl of pasta. Add the chopped parsley and seared prawns. Season generously with salt to taste and mix all the ingredients together. Finish with a little bit more chilli flakes for extra colour and kick. Enjoy.

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