Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS: Avocado Aioli Dip

1 whole ripe avocado, peeled, diced
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp onion, grated
¼ cup homemade mayonnaise
2 tbsp lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS: Wadadli Beer Louisiana BBQ Sauce

1 bottle Wadadli beer
1 onion, finely diced
4 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
½ bunch parsley, chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
1 lb butter

Ingredients: Red Onion Gastrique

½ medium red onion, diced
1 ½ cup white sugar
½ cup vinegar
1 cinnamon stick

Ingredients: Shrimp

1lb large Gulf shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 bottle Crystal hot sauce (or mild hot sauce)
6 cups all-purpose flour

Method for Avocado Aioli Dip:

In a bowl coarsely mash the avocado with a fork, add remaining ingredients and combine. Set aside and refrigerate.

Method for Wadadli Beer BBQ Sauce:

In a saucepan over a medium-high heat reduce the Wadadli beer with onions, rosemary, garlic, parsley and Worcestershire sauce to a quarter. Lower heat and add heavy cream, reduce by half. Remove from stove and fold in butter. Set aside, keep warm.

Method for Red Onion Gastrique:

Add all ingredients to a sauté pan over medium-high heat, reduce until it reaches a thick consistency. Set aside.

Method for Shrimp:

Place clean shrimp in large mixing bowl. In two small bowls add flour and crystal hot sauce separately. Dip shrimp first in the flour, then the hot sauce and then back into the flour. Deep-fry with medium-hot oil for 2 minutes.

To Serve:

Divide the shrimp between all serving plates. Add a spoonful of red onion gastrique and avocado aioli to eachplate. Drizzle the plates with BBQ sauce.

Serves 4

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 Fettucine pasta
2 spring onions, finely diced
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

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 bread crumbs to the remaining oil and fry carefully, tossing frequently until golden brown. Remove bread crumbs from the pan and drain excess oil on paper towels.

Method for pasta:

Boil the pasta in salted water with 2tbsps olive oil (1 litre of water with 10g. of salt per 100g. 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.

There are several variations of this fresh egg-made pasta. Tortelloni is a slightly larger version of Tortellini and Cappellacci pasta and is folded from differently cut pasta sheets. The different shapes are born from the gastronomic wars between the “hill lands” and the “seaside” of Emilia-Romagna in Italy. That is why they call Emiliani the people of the hillside and Romagnoli the people of the seaside. There is much folklore surrounding the origin of the shape of Tortellini pastas and to this day the size, shape, fillings, sauces and even broths that it is served in vary vastly.

Handmade Tortelloni by La Bussola Restaurant

One romantic legend reveals that Venus, the goddess of love, once stayed at the local tavern in the town of Castelfranco Emilia, halfway between the gastronomic cities of Bologna and Modena. The innkeeper spied on his guest through the keyhole of her room, and got a partial glimpse of her. Struck by what he saw, he rushed to his kitchen, rolled out a sheet of fresh egg pasta and invented a shape inspired by Venus’ navel.

Handmade Tortelloni by La Bussola Restaurant

La Bussola’s excellent larger shaped Tortelloni pasta is handmade. The traditional pasta sheets are made with semolina, white flour and eggs, but the filling has an unexpected Caribbean inspired twist. It is made with braised Antiguan lobster tails with extra virgin olive oil and the sauce is a light Bolognese of shrimp, seasoned with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh tomatoes and Italian flat parsley.

Handmade Tortelloni by La Bussola Restaurant