Friday, January 11, 2008

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


Jamie Oliver is one of my favorite UK chefs. I like his food because his recipes are simple (most of the time), he uses fresh ingredients and his presentation is very rustic. I got this recipe from his book, Jamie’s Italy, and it is one of our favorite pasta meals at home. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any rocket leaves at home, so the photo is not as appealing.


Ingredients:

  • 455g/1lb-dried spaghetti
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1-2 dried red chilies, crumbled
  • 400g/14 oz peeled raw prawns
  • 1 small wineglass of white wine
  • 2 heaped tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes blitzed in a blender
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 handful of rocket, roughly chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil

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




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