Garlic Prawn Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes
Plump prawns and burst cherry tomatoes tossed through spaghetti in a garlicky olive oil sauce, finished with starchy pasta water so every strand is glossy.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 6 · Cook 12
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sautéing · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Quick
- Italian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tsp salt. Add the 180 g spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes, stirring once so the strands do not stick.
~9 min
Salting water seasons pasta from within; stirring prevents strands from sticking by keeping them moving.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the spaghetti boils, peel and thinly slice the 4 garlic cloves. Halve the 200 g cherry tomatoes.
~3 min
-
Set a frying pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and cook gently until pale gold and fragrant, about 1 minute. Do not let it brown.
~1 min
Gentle heat coaxes garlic's flavour without burning, which would turn it bitter and acrid.
Keep the garlic at a gentle sizzle, not a hard fry: once it turns pale gold it is ready, and any darker it will taste bitter.
Sautéing Keep heat medium and stir often; garlic should sizzle gently, never brown. Add tomatoes when garlic is pale gold.
-
Add the halved cherry tomatoes and 0.25 tsp black pepper to the pan. Cook, pressing the tomatoes with the spoon, until they soften and release their juices, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Pressing tomatoes breaks their cells, releasing juices that become the sauce base.
Sautéing Keep heat medium and stir often; garlic should sizzle gently, never brown. Add tomatoes when garlic is pale gold.
-
Add the 200 g prawns to the pan and cook until they turn opaque and firm, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Prawns turn opaque and firm when their proteins coagulate; overcooking makes them rubbery.
-
Before draining, scoop out 120 ml of the starchy pasta water. Drain the spaghetti, add it to the pan with the prawns and tomatoes, pour in the 120 ml pasta water, and toss over medium heat for 1 minute until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the strands. Serve immediately.
~1 min
Starchy pasta water emulsifies with oil to thicken sauce so it clings glossily to strands.
Emulsifying Toss vigorously over medium heat so starchy water and oil combine into a glossy sauce that coats each strand.