PAPER-BAKED PRAWN & GARLIC PASTA

Prep: 10 minutes     Cook: 20 minutes    
Serves: 6

Wonderful aromas of garlic, wine and prawns burst from these foil parcels when you open them at the table and inhale their heavenly steam. A great dish for a dinner party or special celebration.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp (60 ml) butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) chilli flakes
  • 2 x 400 g tins tomato & onion mix
  • 3 Tbsp (45 ml) tomato paste
  • ½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine
  • 400 cooked, peeled prawns, defrosted
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 500 g Pasta Grandé Spaghetti
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
  • 4 litres water
  • 6 Tbsp (90 ml) basil pesto
  • 6 Tbsp (90 ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • olive oil, for drizzling

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 210 °C. Cut out 6 large squares of tin foil and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in pan and very gently fry the garlic and chilli flakes, without letting them brown.
  3. Add the tomato and onion mix, tomato paste and wine and cook over a medium-high heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the sauce is beginning to thicken.
  4. Add the prawns and cook for a further minute or so – just long enough to warm them through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set the pan aside.
  5. While the sauce is cooking, bring the water and salt to a fast boil in a large pot. Add all the pasta in one go and stir to separate the strands. Briefly cover the pot with a lid until the water comes back to a rapid boil.  Cook, uncovered, stirring now and then, for exactly 5 minutes (the spaghetti will continue to cook in the oven).
  6. Drain the pasta using a colander, reserving a third of a cup of the boiling water.
  7. Tip the pasta back into the pot you boiled it in and add the reserved water, which will prevent it sticking together.
  8. Lay the tin-foil squares on the countertop. Bring up the sides of the foil sheets to form shallow ‘bowls’.
  9. Immediately divide the pasta between the 6 sheets and top each pile with a generous ladle of tomato sauce, plus a few prawns each.
  10. Place 1 Tbsp basil pesto on top of each pile, and scatter with parsley. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with more black pepper.
  11. Tightly seal the parcels by bringing up the sides and crimpling them together at the top to form a ‘purse’. Place them on two baking sheets and bake at 210 °C for about 10 minutes, or until very hot to the touch.
  12. Immediately slide the parcels onto hot plates, and invite your guests to tear them open and dig in.
Papa Grandé’s Tips
  • Pasta can also be baked in parchment paper, but it’s more difficult to seal the edges tightly.
  • Ring the changes by adding fresh mussels before the parcels go into the oven.
  • 4 Tbsp (60 ml) butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) chilli flakes
  • 2 x 400 g tins tomato & onion mix
  • 3 Tbsp (45 ml) tomato paste
  • ½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine
  • 400 cooked, peeled prawns, defrosted
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 500 g Pasta Grandé Spaghetti
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
  • 4 litres water
  • 6 Tbsp (90 ml) basil pesto
  • 6 Tbsp (90 ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • olive oil, for drizzling
  1. Heat the oven to 210 °C. Cut out 6 large squares of tin foil and set aside.
  2. Melt the butter in pan and very gently fry the garlic and chilli flakes, without letting them brown.
  3. Add the tomato and onion mix, tomato paste and wine and cook over a medium-high heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the sauce is beginning to thicken.
  4. Add the prawns and cook for a further minute or so – just long enough to warm them through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set the pan aside.
  5. While the sauce is cooking, bring the water and salt to a fast boil in a large pot. Add all the pasta in one go and stir to separate the strands. Briefly cover the pot with a lid until the water comes back to a rapid boil.  Cook, uncovered, stirring now and then, for exactly 5 minutes (the spaghetti will continue to cook in the oven).
  6. Drain the pasta using a colander, reserving a third of a cup of the boiling water.
  7. Tip the pasta back into the pot you boiled it in and add the reserved water, which will prevent it sticking together.
  8. Lay the tin-foil squares on the countertop. Bring up the sides of the foil sheets to form shallow ‘bowls’.
  9. Immediately divide the pasta between the 6 sheets and top each pile with a generous ladle of tomato sauce, plus a few prawns each.
  10. Place 1 Tbsp basil pesto on top of each pile, and scatter with parsley. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with more black pepper.
  11. Tightly seal the parcels by bringing up the sides and crimpling them together at the top to form a ‘purse’. Place them on two baking sheets and bake at 210 °C for about 10 minutes, or until very hot to the touch.
  12. Immediately slide the parcels onto hot plates, and invite your guests to tear them open and dig in.
Papa Grandé’s Tips
  • Pasta can also be baked in parchment paper, but it’s more difficult to seal the edges tightly.
  • Ring the changes by adding fresh mussels before the parcels go into the oven.

Related Hint

Paper-Baked Prawn & Garlic Pasta

Ring the changes by adding fresh mussels before the parcels go into the oven.

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