Recipes

Pasta Amatriciana With Prawns & Black Pepper

Feb 15, 2015
Pasta Amatriciana With Prawns & Black Pepper

Spaghetti con gamberi e pepe nero stile Amatriciana

The Amatriciana sauce, also called “matriciana” in Roman dialect, is a pasta sauce that takes its name from a village in Lazio not far from Rome, Amatrice. The village was part of Abruzzo until 1927, when the borders of the regions were re-organised and it became part of Lazio.  The ingredients of this very traditional dish are guanciale (pig’s cheek), Pecorino cheese and tomato. This version is inspired by the exceptional quality of the Monograno Felicetti pasta. I have cooked this dish both with their matt Spaghetti and Spaghettoni.

The results achieved using this pasta will exceed the expectations of any pasta lover. With good quality prawns and the luscious intensity of summer tomatoes this is a perfect family dish for sunny days.

Learn creative and traditional Italian cooking with Sandra’s Melbourne cooking lessons!

Pasta Amatriciana Ingredients for 4 people

16 green tiger prawns – shelled and of medium to small size
60 gr smoked flat pancetta cut in batons
20 or more ripe cherry tomatoes, chose the small Roma tomato type
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tbs of warm vegetable stock
1 finely chopped shallot
Salt and pepper
50 to 100 ml of dry white wine
300 gr of spaghetti or spaghettoni

Pasta Amatriciana Cooking Method

Peel and clean the prawns. Leave 12 prawns whole and chop the others in small pieces.
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a frypan and sauté the shallot until translucent. Add the smoked pancetta batons and sauté for a minute or two.  Add the chopped prawns and continue to sauté until the prawns change colour.
Blanch the cherry tomatoes in hot water for a few seconds, remove the skins, slice in half remove the seeds and add to the frypan with the whole prawns. Cook until the prawns start to change colour to a light pink.
Add the white wine and allow to evaporate.
Cook the pasta in hot salted boiling water according to the instructions on the packet. Drain two minutes before it is cooked “al dente” with a slotted spoon or similar kitchen utensil and transfer to the frypan with the sauce.
Add the stock and start to mix the sauce with the pasta. Stir until the pasta has absorbed all the stock and is well coated with the sauce. This process will take 1 to 2 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the sauce is totally amalgamated with the pasta. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Photo by Katie Bonken www.thetravellingpantry.com 

Comments

comments

3 Responses

  1. Ben
    This sounds amazing, we're heading out to our local farmers market to buy all the ingredients to make this evening. Can't wait to try it!
    • Sandra
      Great to hear, hope you enjoy preparing it and eating it as well.
  2. many thanks Sandra have bought the ingredients will make mañana x

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