Lorighittas e gamberons recipe

Prepare: less than 30 mins
Cook: 30 mins to 1 hour
Serve: Serves 2
Dietary: Egg-free Healthy Nut-free

This elegant pasta dish brings together succulent prawns, anchovies and warming chilli, finished with a silky homemade prawn bisque that's full of depth and flavour.

Lorighittas are a Sardinian pasta shape that look very impressive, if you want to try making them try Jonny's lorighittas recipe. If you're not up for making your own pasta, choose a shape that sauces cling to such as strozzapreti, caserecce or gemelli.

For this recipe you’ll need a high-speed blender and a deep frying pan or sauté pan.

By Jonny Mulyk

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Ingredients

For the bisque

6 extra-large raw prawns, shell-on
3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
30g/1oz tomato purée
½ lemon, peel only
125ml/4fl oz white wine
300g/10½oz ice cubes
1 star anise
3 parsley stalks

For the pasta sauce

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
8 parsley stalks
6 anchovy fillets
1 red chilli, deseeded
125ml/4fl oz white wine
40g/1½oz butter

To serve

200g/7oz
lorighittas
(or pasta shape of your choice)
½ lemon, juice only
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Recipe tips

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Method

To make the bisque, twist the heads from the prawns and set aside. Peel off the shells and reserve these with the heads. Make an incision along the back of each prawn and remove the digestive tract. Rinse the prawns, cut into bite-sized pieces and put on a tray in the fridge until you are ready to make the pasta sauce.
Heat some olive oil in a deep saucepan over a medium heat. Add the reserved prawn heads and shells with the whole garlic cloves and fry gently until well roasted and the garlic is aromatic.
Add the tomato purée and lemon peel and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the wine, scraping up anything from the bottom of the pan, and allow it to reduce.
Add the ice cubes and 300ml/10fl oz water, followed by the star anise and parsley stalks. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Transfer everything to a high-speed blender and blend for 1–2 minutes, or until everything is broken down and as smooth as you can get it. Pass through a very fine sieve, transfer to a container and chill until needed.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the lorighittas to the boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes, or, if using dried pasta, follow the pack instructions.
Meanwhile for the pasta sauce, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and parsley stalks and cook gently to flavour the oil.
Add the anchovy fillets to the frying pan and cook gently until they break down into the oil. Add the chilli and cook briefly.
Add the reserved chopped prawns and cook gently for a few minutes, until they start to colour. Pour in the wine and allow it to reduce slightly.
Add 4 ladlefuls (about 480ml/17fl oz) of the bisque and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce starts to reduce and the prawns are cooked through. Turn off the heat and remove the garlic and parsley stalks.
When the pasta is cooked, transfer it directly from the cooking water to the sauce using a slotted spoon. Turn the heat to high, add the cold butter and toss until the sauce has reduced and coats the pasta.
Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley and toss to combine. Divide between warmed plates and serve immediately.