This dish is a Cavaliere favourite that has consistently made an appearance on the Ristorante Rinuccini menu for the past 25 years! A light and summery traditional spaghetti with fresh water prawns from Kilmore Quay and a hint of chilli to finish.
At Ristorante Rinuccini Head Chef/Owner Antonio Cavaliere loves the combination of classic Italian dishes with the very best of fresh Irish local ingredients. The twice-weekly trips to Kilmore Quay are amongst the highlights of their week to source the freshest fish and seafood and find little gems like these fresh water prawns.
Ingredients
– 25 ml extra virgin olive oil
– 200 g raw peeled Kilmore Quay fresh prawns
– 2 large garlic clove, crushed
– 1/2 fresh chilli very finely chopped
– 100 ml white wine
– squeeze lemon juice
– a handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
– 400 g fresh spaghetti
Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When it starts to sizzle, add the prawns and fry for 1 min until they start to change colour.
2. Add the garlic and chilli and sizzle for a further 1 min, splash in the wine and then bring to the boil.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, then stir in the chopped parsley.
4. In a large pan of boiling, salted water, add the pasta and bring to the boil. After 30 seconds quickly strain and put into a large bowl and toss through the prawns sauce.
5. Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, pour over any extra sauce and serve straight away
WINE PAIRING…BY SUZANNE REDMOND
Our recommended Wine Pairing for this Recipe
Domaine de Joy Eclat €16.99 now €13.99
Colombard 50%, Ugni-blanc 25%, Gros Manseng 25%
On the nose this wine is aromatic, with notes of peach, melon, lychee and touches of heather & herbs.
The palate is juicy with a beautiful body from the four months lees aging undergoes. The aromas flow delightfully onto the palate with great freshness with a light mineral undertone giving the wine some extra structure.
This wine will pair so well with this dish as the fruit and texture of the wine will hold the weight of the prawns but not over power the flavour; the wine will enhance the simple beauty of the dish.
Available from O’Brien’s Wines Nationwide or Online.
RECIPE FROM…ANTONIO CAVALIERE OF RINUCCINI
Antonio came to Ireland from Lazio aged 15. He served his apprenticeship under the classically trained chef, Bernardino Gentile, at Quo Vadis in Dublin, one of the first and most influential Italian restaurants on the Irish scene. In 1989, with his wife Marion, he opened Ristorante Rinuccini, Kilkenny’s first Italian restaurant, opposite the city’s medieval Kilkenny Castle.
Food and family are at the heart of Italian culture and at the heart of Ristorante Rinuccini. Like all Italian families they are full of passion and that passion – for fine cuisine – continues to the next generation, with Antonio and Marion’s son, Riccardo and his wife Orla carrying on this strong family tradition and continuing their legacy.
Rinuccini Rinuccini