Equipment
Ingredients
Aromatics and Base
- 30 ml olive oil, extra virgin
- 4 garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
- 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
Seafood
- 600 g jumbo prawns, raw, peeled, deveined, tails intact
Seasoning and Garnish
- 4 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 10 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 231 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbohydrates
- 7 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 644 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 242 mg
- Potassium
- 450 mg
- Calcium
- 112 mg
- Iron
- 1.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 57 mg
- Phosphorus
- 333 mg
- Zinc
- 2.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 13 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 14 mg
- Vitamin E
- 1.1 mg
- Vitamin K
- 46 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.02 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.01 mg
- Niacin
- 0.1 mg
- Folate
- 4 mcg
- Water
- 126 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sliced garlic and fresh red chilli. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden, being careful not to let it brown.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the halved cherry tomatoes. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to burst and release their juices to form a rustic, slightly thickened sauce.
Pat the raw jumbo prawns entirely dry with a paper towel and add them to the bubbling tomato sauce in a single layer. Season evenly with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until the prawns turn opaque and pink and reach an internal temperature of 63 C or 145 F.
Remove the skillet from the heat immediately to stop the cooking process. Squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the prawns and scatter the chopped flat-leaf parsley on top. Toss gently with a wooden spoon to combine the pan juices and serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Patting the prawns completely dry before adding them to the pan ensures they sear and absorb the garlic oil rather than steaming in their own surface moisture, preserving their firm, snappy texture.
- Leaving the tails on the prawns not only improves the final visual presentation but also adds a subtle, sweet depth of flavor to the pan juices during the cooking process.
- To maximize the tomato sauce flavor without adding extra liquid or tomato paste, allow the cherry tomatoes to blister completely undisturbed in the hot oil for the first two minutes before stirring.
- If your batch of cherry tomatoes happens to be out of season and particularly tart, a tiny pinch of white sugar added during the simmering phase can help balance the acidity of the resulting sauce.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Store in an airtight container. Prawns become considerably tougher upon reheating.
Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat until just warmed through to about 65 C to prevent a rubbery texture.
Troubleshooting
Prawns are tough, dry, and rubbery
Cause: Overcooking the prawns by leaving them on the heat too long or letting them boil aggressively in the sauce
Fix: Cannot be fixed. If completely overdone, slice thinly and toss through a larger volume of pasta to mask the dense texture
Prevention: Remove the pan from the heat immediately once the prawns turn opaque, as they will continue to cook slightly from residual heat in the sauce
Tomato sauce is too watery
Cause: Tomatoes were not cooked down long enough before adding the prawns, or prawns retained too much surface water
Fix: Remove the cooked prawns to a plate, return the skillet to high heat, and reduce the sauce for 2 minutes before returning the prawns to warm through
Prevention: Allow the tomatoes to actively bubble and reduce until jammy, and thoroughly pat prawns dry before cooking
Cultural Context
This rapid preparation method draws strong inspiration from Mediterranean coastal cooking traditions, sharing DNA with classic Italian seafood dishes like Fra Diavolo and Aglio e Olio. By relying on a minimal foundation of high-quality ingredients cooked quickly over high heat, the technique preserves the delicate, natural sweetness of the fresh seafood while simultaneously infusing it with robust, warming aromatics.
