This prawn spaghetti was more delicious than imagined. The key was the tomato paste. And the rocket leaves really matched with seafood. Learned from Jamie Oliver.
A Pasta from Southern Italy
Jamie had this pasta in a small restaurant called La Gondola in Palermo, Southern Italy. He found that the pair of prawn and rocket leave was very good and I also agreed after trying it! Especially after adding a little tomato paste, the sauce offers a slight acidity and popped tomato flavour which pleased my every single taste bud.
I tried to cook in 2 ways.
1 ) Tomato Paste, Prawn and Rocket
This method is relatively simple. The main ingredients are prawns and rocket, season with tomato paste. The prawn flavour and rocket were outstanding, while the tomato paste offered a pleasant acidity.
2 ) Added Canned Tuna
This one requires more ingredients – half can of tuna in olive oil, plus prawns and rocket, then seasoned with tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes. Overall the flavour was richer, but also more oily.
To me, I prefer the first method as it uses less ingredients, but the taste is very pleasing. If you want a richer and thicker sauce, then method 2 fits better.
Ref. Recipe
Jamie Olive: Spaghetti with prawns and rocket
The below instruction is for method 1, means only using tomato paste, prawns and rocket. And for method 2, you can add canned tuna after the prawns had turned colour. Then add tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 140 g spaghetti
- 12 (approx. 200 g) frozen prawns, thawed and pat dry
- 50 g rocket leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 dried chilli
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
How to Make Rocket and Prawn Spaghetti in 15 mins
- Boil pasta in salted water as per package instructions.
- Heat about 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and chilli until fragrant. Stir in the prawns and cook until they changed colour. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add the tomato paste and approx. 3 tbsp of pasta cooking water (or white wine) . Let the tomato paste integrate into the sauce. Then add part of rocket leaves (save some for garnish).
- Return the cooked spaghetti to the pan and give them a quick stir. Drizzle over a little olive oil and freshly grounded black pepper. Garnish with the remaining rocket leaves and serve.
