Brodetto di gamberoni
Typical of the summer months in my home town, Pescara, this recipe is always cooked with “pannocchie” a crustacean fish we do not have in Australia. We do have a huge variety of green prawns. I have adapted the traditional “pannocchie” recipes to our brilliant Tiger prawns. You can use fresh tomatoes in summer when they are at their most flavoursome.
Ingredients for 4 people
8 green Tiger prawns – you can use smaller ones, as many as will fit in your pan in one layer.
A handful of chopped parsley
1 finely chopped garlic clove
250 ml of Italian tomato passata or half a kilo of the ripest tomatoes (blanched, peeled and quartered, any white part removed)
2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
60 ml of dry white wine
Finely chopped peel of half lemon
Salt and pepper
Lay the prawns on a working bench and hold them with their back facing you. Using a sharp knife split each prawn across the back, starting from the body and ending with the tail.
Remove the intestinal track and flatten the prawns with your hands, you need to butterfly the prawns, leaving the head whole.
In a large heavy based casserole dish, large enough to hold the butterflied prawns in one layer, add the olive oil the parsley, garlic, the lemon peel, wet with the wine and allow to evaporate. Add the tomato passata (or fresh peeled tomatoes if using) and bring to the boil, cover and cook for 20 minutes on very low heat, checking the sauce is not reducing.
The cooking time may vary depending on the size of your prawns.
Serve with lots of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
