Pappardelle in Arrabiata Sauce with King Prawns flambéed in Grand Marnier

In a recent review, I read that Justin Quek, who heads Whisk at the Mira, flambés his prawns with Grand Marnier, so my inspiration for this dish belongs to him. I made a sweet paprika marinade, then tossed the seared prawns in homemade pasta w/ a simple arrabiata sauce.

The prawns are absolutely delicious, and go well on their own as an appetizer, too. Make sure you get only the freshest ones that are plump and juicy.

Fresh Pappardelle Arrabiata w/ King Prawns flambeed in Grand Marnier

4 King Prawns, (I used Japanese ones)

Marinade:

4 tablespoons Oil

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons spanish paprika (sweet kind, if not use regular paprika)

1-2 dried chilli, minced

salt and pepper

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Wash prawns, then toss in marinade and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a pan with oil and butter on high heat. When smoking, add prawns and marinade into pan and lower heat slightly to medium-high. Sear for 5 minutes till it's red, then flip over and sear for another 5 minutes or more until cooked. If my prawns are large, I cover it for the 5 minutes so that the steam helps to cook it faster without the garlic-marinade burning.

When cooked, remove pan from burner, pour in Grand Marnier and return to burner. Using lighter, ignite alcohol in pan and let it burn, baby burn! Once the flame has gone out, remove shrimp and sauce onto plate and cover to keep warm.

Arrabiatta Sauce:

2 tablespoons oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 dried chillies, minced

1 large can crushed Italian tomatoes

2 tablespoons dried thyme

3 tablespoon dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1 Fresh Pappardelle Recipe, or 1 box pappardelle

Handful of Fresh Italian Parsley

In a clean pan, saute garlic and chillies in olive oil. When it's brown, add crushed tomato, herbs and bay leave. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15 minutes but the longer, the better. While the prawns are marinating you should make this sauce and let it simmer on the burner.

To assemble:

In boiling pot of water well salted, cook pappardelle. With fresh pasta, it only takes a few minutes to cook so watch it, stirring frequently.

When pasta is done, drain, then pour into arrabiata sauce. Toss, then add prawns with juice/sauce. Toss, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

*** For a nicer presentation, just pour in the sauce from prawns into pasta and toss, then plate pasta in bowls with a prawn perched on top, and sprinkles with chopped parsley .