Italian Fettuccine with King Prawns

INGREDIENTS:

16 king prawns, shells and heads on
2 cloves of garlic
40 fresh basil leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chilli pepper flakes
32 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup pre-cooked tomato sauce base
80g bread, crust removed, cubed
400g Fresh homemade Fettuccine
pasta or dried Fettuccine pasta
2 spring onions, finely diced
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Fresh ingredients for Italian Fettuccine with King Prawns

METHOD for Prawns:

Remove the shells from 8 prawns, but leave the heads and tails intact. With a toothpick remove the intestines. Remove the head, shells and intestines from the remaining 8 prawns, but leave the tails intact. Reserve heads. Set aside.

METHOD for Sauce:

Crush the garlic cloves in a mortar with 4 finely chopped basil leaves and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, heat the cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, basil and chilli pepper flakes. When the ingredients start to slightly brown, add the 8 prawn heads. Crush the heads to release the flavours. Add cherry tomatoes. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for a few minutes. Season to taste. Add the 8 prawns with intact tails. Add the tomato sauce and spring onions, replace the lid continue to cook on low heat for a few minutes, until sauce is thick. Remove the crushed prawn heads from the tomato sauce and discard. Remove the whole prawns from the tomato sauce and set aside.

METHOD for Garnish:

Process the bread in a food processor until finely chopped. Set aside. Heat 4 bsp of olive oil over a medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Add the remaining basil leaves and fry quickly for a few seconds. Remove basil from pan and set aside for garnish. Add the breadcrumbs to the remaining oil and fry carefully, tossing frequently until golden brown. Remove breadcrumbs from the pan and drain excess oil on paper towels.

METHOD for pasta:

Boil the pasta in salted water with 2 tbsps of olive oil (1 litre of water with 10g. of salt per 100 g. of pasta). Drain the cooked pasta. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Stir the pasta into the saucepan containing the tomato sauce. Season to taste. Once fully combined add a little pasta water to thin the sauce.

To Serve:

Divide the pasta in tomato sauce between four plates. Add 4 prawns to each plate. Garnish with the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and fried basil leaves.

Italian Fettuccine with king prawns from above