Fra Diavolo Pasta Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2 hungry 3 regular people with sides
Ingredients Needed
- 250g/8.8oz dried spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 50g/1.7oz butter, divided
- 300g/10.6oz prawns, peeled
- 4 large king prawns, shell and head on
For Sauce
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 80ml/2.8 fl oz white wine
- 800g/1.7lbs tinned tomatoes
- 30g/1oz tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
- 1-2 bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarb (if needed)
- 30ml/1fl oz cream
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 PREPARE - First put a large pot of water onto boil.
Step 2 PRAWNS/SHRIMP - Add oil and half the butter in a large frying pan on medium heat and cook the whole prawns for 2 minutes on each side. Then fry the peeled prawns for 1 minute on each side. Set aside.
Step 3 SAUCE - Add the remaining butter to the pan and saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the white wine and deglaze pan with it (scrape off any bits stuck to the pan) and then add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chilli flakes, chilli, salt, pepper and oregano. Bring to a simmer. Taste- if it is sour add the bicarb. Sauce will foam up for a few minutes but the bubbles will disappear. Simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes adding the par-cooked shelled prawns and cream in within the last minute (not the large prawns).
Step 4 PASTA - With 10 minutes to go, the pot of water should be ready. Pop the spaghetti in it and cook until al dente. When done, lift spaghetti into the sauce. If the sauce needs loosening, add 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water to the sauce. Gently toss the pasta in the sauce. Add the whole prawns in and gently toss. Place on plate with whole prawns on top. Serve with a wedge of lemon.
Substitution notes:
Short pasta can also be used instead of long pasta. Sub prawns with other types of seafood like clams, white fish or scallops. Italian pork sausage is also excellent with fra diavolo sauce.
Personal Note
This recipe is so simple that I make something like this at least once a month, especially if I don't have a lot of time to cook something up but want something that is going to last for a couple of meals. This pasta has a lot of sauce so it doesn't end up dry even by the following day when you eat it.
I make this so much that I often don't have to look at a recipe for it. It's just one of those super satisfying dishes that we love because of the chilli. Prawns are my favourite followed by Italian pork sausage because the sauce can go either way towards meat or seafood really.
Admittedly I have a good memory for food because it is what interests me but it always makes me laugh when Mr NQN has no memory of food at all like you can ask him 30 minutes after he's eaten what he ate and he won't know. But recently we were talking with friends about petrol prices and he asked me if I remembered when the petrol was 1.15c about 10 years ago when we were driving to Orange.
"Hang on, you can't remember what you ate 30 minutes but you can remember the petrol station we stopped at 10 years ago and the price of the petrol?" I said laughing. Then Carla chimed in that she can remember long sequences of numbers but the second I see a chain of numbers, I completely zone out!
So tell me Dear Reader, are you good at remembering food or numbers? Do you like spicy pastas?