This recipe from a new pasta cookbook has come straight from the heart of Italy’s food scene.
The cookbook on the scene is An A-Z Of Pasta: Stories, Shapes, Sauces, Recipes from food writer Rachel Roddy, which has many different ways of cooking the Italian classic.
This recipe, extracted from the book, for fresh capelli d’angelo even comes with its own history.
“As far back as the 16th Century, in a town called Campofilone in Le Marche, maccheroncini – remember that for centuries the word maccheroni was the generic term for all pasta – was described as so thin, it was like angel hair,” explains Rachel.
“Nowadays, Maccheroncini di Campofilione is protected by an Indicazione Geografica Protetta or IGP (PDO – protected designation of origin in English), which defines how it’s made and in which specific area geographically.
“This recipe is inspired by a dish served at an elegant fish restaurant called Chalet Galileo, whose windows open on to an almost white beach in Civitanova in the region of Le Marche.
“Prawns cooked swiftly in olive oil, with white wine and scented with lemon zest, are netted for the second time in fresh egg pasta,” she adds. “Cooking times for the prawns and the pasta are brief, so the dish comes together incredibly quickly. A bright, swift tangle of a supper.”
For more inspiration for a midweek meal, take a look at the previous recipes in this series here.
Fresh capelli d’angelo with prawns and lemon
Serves 4
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
- A pinch of red chilli flakes
- 400g small prawns, peeled
- 120ml dry white wine
- Salt
- 400g fresh egg pasta, cut to approx. 1mm thick, alternatively tagliolini or spaghettini
- Zest of a lemon
- 1 heaped tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil for the pasta.
- In a large frying pan, warm the oil, garlic and chilli gently to infuse the oil.
- Add the prawns, stir, then raise the heat, add the wine and a pinch of salt and allow to bubble for three minutes while you cook the pasta – which will only take a minute or so.
- Drain the pasta, or lift directly into the prawn pan, add the lemon zest and parsley, then toss for the last time, and serve.
An A-Z Of Pasta: Stories, Shapes, Sauces, Recipes by Rachel Roddy is published by Fig Tree, priced £25. Photography by Jonathan Lovekin.