About the Recipe
I had some extra prawns from an order and some bucatini lying around, but you can totally make this with fresh or frozen shrimp or any other long pasta of your choice.
Ingredients
200g bucatini
500g prawns peeled and deveined, with tails left on
salt and pepper
Pinch baking soda
50g olive oil
50-60g garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped (around 12 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
100g butter
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice or to taste
1 tablespoon lemon zest or to taste
1 lemon, juiced, plus additional wedges for serving
2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley and more for garnish
Preparation
Season the shrimp generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the baking soda and toss. Set aside.
Cook the bucatini in the boiling salted water, aiming for for 1-2 minutes short of al dente.
Heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is translucent. Transfer garlic-pepper mix to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Crank the heat all the way up and place the shrimp into the skillet, in a single layer. Cook just until the shrimp begin to change color and then flip.
Cook for another minute or so (until the other side has changed color) then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add remaining liquid from the shrimp and the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.
Add the butter and cooked garlic-pepper mixture, and whisk until butter is fully melted and the sauce comes together.
Add the lemon juice, and continue to whisk for another 3 minutes. Season to taste adding salt or lemon juice as desired.
Add your pasta to the sauce and mix well. Add your prawns and mix well. Add half the parsley and lemon zest, mixing constantly. Keep mixing until your pasta and prawns are fully cooked, and your sauce is creamy, adding pasta water as necessary if your sauce gets too dry. Season to taste.
Transfer to your serving bowl, garnish with your remaining parsley, lemon zest and freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.