Spaghetti Al Pomodoro with Prawn Crudo

This is a dish I enjoyed making at our Pop Up dinner in Cape Town during our South Africa Tour last month. Since it was Summer in the Southern Hemisphere the ingredients were top-notch; beautiful cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and good South Africa Extra Virgin Olive oil for the pasta. I found excellent fresh prawns from Mozambique, too. This dish is very simple, fresh and super tasty. You can easily make it at home, just source the finest ingredients! In the Seattle area, Uwajimaya is a great resource. 

Prawn crudo is a raw prawn dish, typically marinated in citrus or olive oil-based dressings, served fresh with herbs, vegetables, or garnishes to highlight the natural sweetness of the prawns. First, clean, peel and devein the prawns - setting the heads and shells aside to use later for a stock or bisque (see below). Then, thinly slice or mince the prawn meat like tartare, add lemon zest, lemon juice, finely chopped chives and shallots and a good amount of PicNic Table Extra Virgin Olive oil, salt and pepper and marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

In a large pot,  generously salt an ample amount of water and boil it for the spaghetti. Cook the pasta (al dente) as per the instructions on the package. Set aside two cups of the pasta water to make the pomodoro sauce. See below. Strain and reserve the al dente pasta.

To make the pomodoro sauce, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add a crushed clove of garlic and a couple parsley stems, Saute for a minute, remove the garlic and parsley and add the chopped cherry tomatoes and a teaspoon of chilli flakes. Cook at medium high for 5-6 minutes. Add a ladle of the starchy spaghetti water and reduce to a nice thick red sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.

Add the al dente noodles and toss them in the sauce. Add a good amount of fresh chopped basil, divide in serving plates. With 2 soup spoons, make a quenelle of prawn crudo on top of the pasta, garnish with fresh basil leaves and olive oil.

What is a quenelle? A quenelle is a smooth, three-dimensional oval or football-shaped scoop of soft food. Used frequently in fine dining, this shape is achieved by skillfully manipulating a spoon to create a polished, "egg-like" form, rather than a simple rounded dollop.

Buon Appetito!

You can elevate this dish if you like with a drizzle of prawn bisque made with the heads and shells of the prawns, also very easy and super tasty. In Cape Town, I added trout caviar!

In a stock pot, heat some olive oil and aromatics such as finely chopped shallots, celery and carrots, add the prawns shells and heads. Cook at high heat for 6-8 minutes, making sure you stir it energetically - almost crushing the shells into the pot - at this point add a glass of white wine and keep cooking until the wine has evaporated. Now, add enough ice to the pot to cover all the ingredients, creating a temperature shock and maintaining the fresh, bright flavor of the ingredients. Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until the sauce is nice and thick, strain through fine mesh and discard the shells. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Use the sauce as a base for a bisque adding some heavy cream or drizzle some of the sauce around the spaghetti and prawn crudo serving dish. Delizioso!