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Peri-peri Prawn Pasta

Peri-peri Prawn Pasta is a modern South African recipe for a classic dish of prawns in an African birds' eye chilli sauce served with pasta. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Peri-peri Prawn Pasta.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

55 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesSauce RecipesSouth-africa Recipes

This is a modern South African recipe based on traditional Mozambican peri-peri prawns. Peri-peri prawns are beloved in South Africa with peri-peri referring to chillies; traditionally African birds’ eye chillies which grow semi-wild in most gardens. Birds cannot sense capsaicin, the hot compound in chillies, so birds eat ripe bird chillies with abandon. They then deposit the seeds in their guano. The chilli seeds, having their own deposit of fertilizer grow rapidly and often emerge in unexpected places. These semi-wild chillies are typically small and spicier than their domesticated cousins. For this recipe I’m using peri-peri chillies from my garden. You can substitute whichever chilli you like (but it must be red).

Ingredients:

For the peri-peri sauce:
150g (1 cup) cherry tomatoes
2 red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves
12 peri-peri chillies, stems removed
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper (or to taste)
250ml (1 cup) crème fraîche

For the Prawns:
500g (5 cups) peeled prawns (weighed after peeling)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp sea salt

For the Pasta:
500g (1 lb) pasta(spaghetti/tagliatelle/tagliarini)
Fresh basil leaves, torn, to garnish

Method:

Combine the cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, chillies in a roasting dish or baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil then place in an oven pre-heated to 200°C (390°F) and roast for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are beginning to caramelize. Tip into a blender and add the thyme and crème fraiche. Process until smooth then scrape into a saucepan. Season gently then bring to a simmer. Reduce to a low simmer and keep cooking as you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes, until cooked al dente. Once cooked, drain the pasta and reserve 250ml (1 cup) of the cooking liquid.

In a medium-sized bowl, toss the peeled prawns with the paprika, oregano, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil and use to fry the prawns for 2 minutes per side, or until golden and just cooked through.

Transfer the prawns to the sauce and stir to combine. Toss the drained pasta with the sauce and add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water. Toss once more to combine.

Serve immediately, garnished with the basil leaves.