seafood

spaghetti with prawns and rocket (spaghetti con gamberetti e rucola)

method

This dish was on the menu in a little restaurant called La Gondola in one of the roughest parts of Palermo. I thought the combination of flavors was great, and very accessible to us back home in Britain. You can buy very high-quality frozen prawns in supermarkets these days, so it’s a win-win situation, but if you can get hold of some super-fresh ones and peel them yourself this can all of a sudden become very luxurious in flavour. A real crowd-pleaser. Finish off with good-quality olive oil and wild rocket full of flavor and you’ll be laughing. PS If using frozen prawns, make sure they’re thawed out.

Cook your spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, heat 3 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and toss in the garlic and chilli. As the garlic begins to colour, add the prawns and sauté them for a minute. Add the white wine and the tomato purée and simmer for a couple of minutes. When the pasta is ready, drain it in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce, squeeze in the lemon juice, add half the chopped rocket, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if you want to loosen the sauce a bit, and correct the seasoning. Divide between 4 plates and sprinkle with the grated lemon zest and the rest of the rocket leaves.

• from Jamie's Italy

ingredients

• 455g dried spaghetti
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1–2 dried red chillies, crumbled
• 400g peeled raw prawns
• 1 small wineglass of white wine
• 2 heaped tablespoons sun-dried tomato purée, or 6 sun-dried tomatoes blitzed in a blender
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 handfuls of rocket, roughly chopped

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by sharon on Fri 02 Dec 2011 @ 13:28

I added at the last minute some fresh calamari, delicious. This is so quick and easy I love it

2. by rihana on Sun 23 Oct 2011 @ 14:53

i love did recipie....its delicieous....try it now..bacha..

3. by Søren Larsen Pedersen on Sun 09 Oct 2011 @ 18:23

I've been doing this recipe with chicken for ages - It's so brilliant! <br /> <br /> - Søren

4. by Jenny on Wed 15 Jun 2011 @ 10:29

What's the nutritional info for this - how many calories / fat content etc? I hate myself for writing this but I've been enjoying good food (including this recipe) for too long now and it's time I cut back! Thanks

5. by Gabriel on Wed 08 Jun 2011 @ 13:16

Beautiful !!!

6. by CecilieD on Mon 19 Apr 2010 @ 14:00

I made this with my family the other day and we all loved it! :)
A simple, easy, and delicious recipe!

7. by Max on Mon 08 Mar 2010 @ 13:08

Wesite69, it's not this site's fault you have a limited palette, coriander and rocket are both important flavor agents.

8. by Westie69 on Wed 24 Feb 2010 @ 09:38

Why do we have to suffer SO many recipes with rocket in them..... please suggest alternatives. Now I either don't add anything else at all, use dill if a fish recipe, or basil for some others.

I know we don't all like the same thing, but please, can someone for once start suggesting alternatives.

By the way, don't care much for fresh coriander either!

Thanks very much.

Sarah.

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