Servings
Font
Back
0 from 120 votes

Spicy Chilli Prawn Pasta (Shrimp)

Pasta tossed with juicy prawns and a rich spicy tomato sauce! Super quick for midweek, the secret ingredients in this are the anchovies (it dissolves!) and parmesan which provides that extra umami that you get from simmering a sauce made with prawn shells for hours and hours. See note 1 for more commentary and see video below recipe.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 544 kcal
Course: Main Course

Ingredients

  • 180 g / 6 oz fettuccine or other pasta or choice
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 150 - 180 g / 5 - 6 oz medium prawns/shrimp , peeled and deveined
  • 2 anchovies , whole (or 1/2 tsp anchovy paste)
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 tsp+ chilli fakes / red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup / 250 ml tomato passata (Note 2)
  • 2 tsp finely grated parmesan
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley , plus more to serve

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Get all the ingredients out and ready to go - this recipe moves fast!
  2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add a big pinch of salt and the pasta. Cook for the time per the packet MINUS 1 minute. SCOOP OUT a mugful of pasta cooking water before draining pasta (or transfer it straight from pot into sauce, if you time it right).
  3. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add prawns and cook for 30 seconds, until surface just changes from translucent to opaque.
  4. Add red pepper flakes and anchovies. Stir briefly, then add wine and garlic.
  5. Cook for 30 seconds until wine is mostly evaporated.
  6. Add tomato passata, squeeze of lemon juice, parmesan, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, turn heat down to medium and cook sauce for 1 minute, stirring frequently (don't cook for long otherwise will overcook prawns).
  7. Add pasta, about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and parsley. Toss gently for 1 minute (or gently stir with wooden spoon or tongs) until sauce re-thickens and it coats the pasta.
  8. Adjust salt, pepper and spiciness to taste. Serve immediately with more parsley.

Notes

  • Truly great prawn / shrimp pastas are made with sauces that are simmered for hours using the prawn heads and shells. In this quick midweek version, I compensate for the lack of hours of simmering with anchovies and parmesan, both of which are used to add "umami" (being a savoury taste, one of the 5 taste sensations) to the sauce. It does not taste fishy at all, no one will guess there are anchovies in this! It just adds that extra special something to the sauce. :) If you REALLY can't stand it, yes you can leave it out, still super tasty!!!
  • Traditionally, seafood pastas are not served with parmesan (it is "illegal" in Italy!) but in this case, the parmesan is not about adding a cheesy finish to the pasta, it's about adding savouriness into the sauce.
  • If you really can't find tomato passata, 400g/14oz of crushed canned tomato can be substituted. But I urge you to find it - once you try it once, you'll understand why I'm such a huge fan of it! It costs around the same as canned tomato.
  • The order in which I add things in this recipe is a bit different to the norm but there's a reason for it! I find because the skillet is so hot and there's lots of space around the prawns, the garlic burns too quickly so I add it later after the wine to get good garlic flavour in the sauce.
  • Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving 327g Calories 544cal (27%) Carbohydrates 56.1g (19%) Protein 35.8g (72%) Fat 17.2g (26%) Saturated Fat 3.4g (17%) Cholesterol 244mg (81%) Sodium 995mg (41%) Potassium 685mg (20%) Fiber 1.5g (6%) Sugar 2.7g (5%) Vitamin A 1750IU (35%) Vitamin C 25.6mg (28%) Calcium 190mg (19%) Iron 4.9mg (27%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 544

% Daily Value*

Serving 327g
Calories 544cal 27%
Carbohydrates 56.1g 19%
Protein 35.8g 72%
Fat 17.2g 26%
Saturated Fat 3.4g 17%
Cholesterol 244mg 81%
Sodium 995mg 41%
Potassium 685mg 15%
Fiber 1.5g 6%
Sugar 2.7g 5%
Vitamin A 1750IU 35%
Vitamin C 25.6mg 28%
Calcium 190mg 19%
Iron 4.9mg 27%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.