Prawn Fettuccine

5 from 4 votes

Prawn Fettuccine is a quick and easy recipe perfect any night of the week! With succulent, juicy prawns and a creamy sauce with al dente pasta.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: prawn fettuccine, prawn fettuccine alfredo

Servings:

Calories: 1012kcal

Author: Adrianne

Ingredients

Prawns

2 tablespoon olive oil
500 grams/16 oz prawns

Alfredo Sauce

40 grams/3 tablespoon butter unsalted
1 tablespoon garlic chunky, minced or chopped, 2-3 cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup/250 ml heavy cream
1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated using a micro plane zester

Pasta

500 grams/16 oz fettuccine
½ cup/125 ml reserved pasta water

To Garnish (optional):

½ cup parsley leaves trimmed from stems, finely chopped using kitchen scissors
black pepper
parmesan cheese

Instructions

Prawns: use a chopping board and clean hands to prepare the prawns. Start by twisting the heads off the prawns, then removing their tails. Then peel the shell and remove it and the legs. Then use a small knife and cut along the back of the prawns and remove the digestive tract. Repeat this process for all prawns. Once done, rinse them and use paper towel to pat them dry.
Butter, garlic and salt: place a large sauté pan on the stove, turn the heat to high and add the butter. Allow this to melt and then add the garlic and salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring as the garlic softens and turns golden brown.
Cream and cheese: next turn the heat to low and pour in the cream, use a wooden spoon to stir this then add the parmesan cheese and continue to stir until it has melted.
Fettuccine: read and follow the package instructions to cook the pasta in a medium pot of boiling salted water. Moments before it is al dente (a little bit chewy if you taste a bit) use a heatproof jug to scoop out and remove 1- 2 cups of the pasta water. Then use a colander over the sink to drain the rest of the pasta and discard the water.
Combine: give the alfredo sauce another stir to combine then add the hot drained pasta to the pan. Then measure and pour in ½ cup (125 ml) of pasta water. Next add ½ cup of finely chopped parsley and use a pair of tongs to toss and combine.
Cooked prawns: then add the cooked prawns back to the pan and gently fold into the pasta and sauce. Allow these to heat through.
Garnish: generously garnish the dish with a sprinkling of black pepper, parmesan cheese and additional chopped parsley. Provide plates and spoons for serving.

Notes

Note 1 - Olive oil: we use a little olive oil to cook the prawns in. We then use paper towel to absorb the leftover oil so that it doesn't make the alfredo sauce too greasy.
Note 2 - Prawns: also known as shrimp by my American friends. Raw prawns or shrimp that we peel and devein ourselves will give the best tasting results.
Note 3 - Butter: melting the butter in a hot pan is the 1st step to making the alfredo sauce. As we also use salt as a separate ingredient in the recipe, we want to use unsalted butter. I like to use a creamy French butter.
Note 4 - Garlic: you can use 2-3 fresh garlic cloves and finely dice them. Or use chunky chopped or minced garlic. Jarred garlic can be easy and convenient to use and if you find one that works it is a game changer in terms of convenience, time and effort.
Note 5 - Salt: after the butter is melted we add the salt and fry it off with the garlic.
Note 6 - Cream: we want to use heavy cream for the recipe. This is different to dollop or cream cheeses. This ingredient forms the basis of the creamy alfredo sauce.
Note 8 - Parmesan cheese: we want to use a micro plane zester and finely grate this from a block of parmesan cheese. Doing so gives the best, melty soft cheese.
Note 9 - Fettuccine: this is a wide flat pasta that is similar to linguine, yet a little bit wider. We want to cook this till it is al dente (a little bit chewy).
Note 10 - Reserved pasta water: we only need ½ cup (125ml) of this for the sauce. It is easier, however, when at the stove top to take out more than you need then measure this when you are not dealing with the bubbling, splashing water at the same time.
Note 11 - Parsley: curly parsley that we trim the leaves from the stems and then chop them (the leaves) get added and tossed through the pasta. These adds herby freshness to the recipe as well as pops of bright colour.
Note 12 - Pepper: we use a little bit of black pepper to garnish the dish when serving.

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