Prawn
Culottes on Fire: Shrimp with Capellini
Another week of setting stuff ablaze with Fire Marshall Pierino. If you do your prep properly this dish can be put together in just about 30 minutes. I use shell on shrimp here so they are still wearing their knickers. Retain more flavor, I think. The accelerant for the blaze is Pernod which is 45% alcohol so it’s good for flambé and goes very well with shrimp. The radicchio and basil will contribute more sweetness so it’s good to finish the dish with a bit of lemon juice to brighten it back up along with a pinch or so of a finishing salt.
Ingredients:
- 12 medium shrimp (in shell)
- 1 shallot chopped
- 6 leaves of fresh basil, chiffonade to equal about � cup
- 1 cup thinly sliced radicchio treviso (or chioggia)
- 2 shots pernod or other pastis
- olive oil
- sea salt
- ground pepper
- squeeze of lemon juice
- � pound capellini pasta
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil
- In a skillet over medium high heat (don�t use nonstick for this) heat up enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the chopped shallot. Cook until it just begins to color
- Add the shrimp, turn once as they change color
- Add the pre-measured pastis to the pan (DON�T pour it straight from the bottle). You can ignite it by tipping the edge of the pan toward the flame (this doesn�t work with an electric cooktop) or you can use a kitchen torch. As a last resort light a match, but you really don�t want a burnt match head in your dish. Reduce flame to low
- At this point you can start the pasta. Capellini cooks fairly quickly
- Add the radicchio and basil to the shrimp and stir. Season with pepper and salt
- When the pasta is al dente, drain and turn it into the pan with the shrimp
- Finish with lemon juice and sea salt to taste.