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farfalle pasta with prawns and orange
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4.72 from 14 votes

Farfalle Pasta with Prawns and Orange

The combination of  farfalle (bow-tie) pasta with orange infused prawns, fennel and almonds makes this a very elegant looking and delicious dish which your guests are going to love! 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Marinating time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: bow-tie pasta, farfalle, oranges, prawns, seafood pasta
Servings: 4
Calories: 590kcal
Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

  • 400 g Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta or short pasta of your choice
  • 12 large prawns (4 per person) fresh or frozen
  • 2 organic oranges or untreated (unwaxed)
  • 1 fennel bulb or white onion
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 handful almonds (optional)
  • ½ glass white wine
  • 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • salt for pasta and to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley chopped
  • fresh dill (if using onion or you have no fennel greens)

Instructions

  • Wash the prawns and remove the heads and the peel but keep the tails on. I also kept one prawn intact for decoration and flavour. Dry the prawns with absorbent paper and put them in a small bowl. 
  • Wash one orange and dry it. Grate the peel from the orange being extremely careful not to grate the white part under the skin which could be bitter. Add half the zest to the prawns.
  • Squeeze the orange and pour the juice onto the prawns as well. Add a dash of olive oil and some of the fennel greens (if you are using fennel) or dill would be good too. Cover the bowl and let the prawns marinate for about 30 minutes. 
  • In the meantime, wash the parsley, dry it  and chop it finely. Wash the fennel, remove the first layer and chop it finely (as you would an onion). Peel the garlic. Wash the other orange and cut into slices. If you are using almonds dry fry them until they start to brown and then mince them in a food processor. 
  • Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic cloves and cook on a medium heat until they start to brown slightly. Add the fennel (or onion) to the pan and cook until it starts to soften. 
  • Remove the prawns from the marinade and add to the pan with the fennel/onion. Brown them on both sides for a couple of minutes. Then add the white wine and some of the parsley. Turn up the heat and cook until the alcohol evaporates. 
  • Add the remaining marinade to the pan and continue to cook for a couple of minutes more on a medium high heat to reduce the liquid. Taste the sauce. Add salt if necessary.
  • While you are cooking the sauce put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Before draining the pasta, save a cup of the cooking water.
  • Drain the pasta al dente and add it directly into the pan with the prawns. Keeping the heat very low, sauté the pasta in the pan and stir for a few seconds. If your sauce seems dry add some of the saved pasta cooking water.
  • Turn off the heat, add the chopped almonds if using, some orange slices, some black pepper and give it a final stir Before serving sprinkle each plate a little more chopped parsley, toasted almonds and a pinch of the remaining orange zest. 

Notes

I made this farfalle pasta with prawns and orange recipe with ridged farfalle (bow-tie pasta) from La Molisana. But you can also use normal farfalle or another short pasta. I think penne would work very well.
This recipe can be made with shrimps too or half shrimp and half prawns. However, unpeeled precooked shrimps (or prawns) need very little cooking and so the dish wouldn't be as flavourful. If you do use precooked seafood, I would suggest marinating it for longer so it absorbs more of the orange flavour and reduce cooking times. 

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 769mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1480IU | Vitamin C: 61mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 3mg