Harissa prawns with cherry tomatoes and courgettes.
A super quick and easy pasta dish that is delicious
I must admit this was one of those “off-the-cuff” recipes that worked so well. I was going to cook my Tangy prawns in tomato sauce recipe, but I opened the fridge and saw a jar of harissa paste and that was it. I had some lovely sugar-drop tomatoes and a courgette that needed using, and there we have it—introducing my Prawn and Harissa spaghetti recipe.
I know Harissa originates strictly from Tunisia, but it works so well with prawns and tomatoes, so let’s harissa it has an Italian Cousin.
This dish is easy to cook but is packed with flavour once you have cooked it. More importantly, it is so tasty. It will become a keeper and a regular in your household.
If you like this pasta recipe, you might like to try one of my favourites, sausage and fennel pasta. Alternatively, our seafood cocktail recipe is a twist on the classic prawn cocktail.
Harissa Prawns Pasta
Print RecipeIngredients
- 200g uncooked prawns (tiger or king prawns)
- Cherry Tomatoes 10-15 cut in half
- 2 Tsp of Harissa paste
- 1 courgette grated
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp of Tomato puree
- 1 Tbsp of Sherry Vinegar
- 1 Tsp pul biber chilli flakes
- Spaghetti, I used dried but fresh is good
- Olive oil
- 2 anchoviy fillets chopped (optional)
- 2 sun dried tomatoes chopped (opitional)
Instructions
Start by grating the courgette, placing it in a bowl, and seasoning it with salt and pepper. We want to let the courgette lose some moisture before cooking it.
In another bowl, add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sherry Vinegar, chopped garlic anchovies and sun-dried tomatoes.
The prawns should be coated with the harissa paste and set aside.
If you are cooking the dried spaghetti, add it to a large pan of water; don’t forget to add salt to the water. It should take about 12-15 minutes to cook. If you are using fresh pasta, it will only take 2/3 minutes.
Gently press the grated courgette with a cloth and drain off any liquid.
Heat a large frying pan with olive oil, add the tomato mixture, and gently fry it in the pan.
In another smaller pan, gently fry the courgette. It could be cooked in the same pan as the tomatoes, but I prefer to add the cooked courgette at the end. I think it looks better and keeps the courgette looking green. It’s silly, I know, so do what suits you.
Once the pasta is nearly ready, add the prawns to the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes until the prawns are pink. Drain the pasta, add the courgette to the tomatoes and prawns, season with black pepper, and you are ready to serve.
