Because the catfish in the local market were much too small, I wandered off to a stall selling shrimps and prawns. And they were so fresh and enticing that I couldn’t resist buying half a kilo for tonight’s dinner. Well, to be more precise, for my husband’s and daughters’ dinner. I’m allergic to crustaceans so I bought some mussels for myself which I also prepared as a pasta dish.
As the title says very clearly, this dish is simply a variation of the basic mac and cheese, comfort food to countless people I know. With the addition of shelled prawns and baby asparagus, that’s taking comfort to a much higher level.
Ingredients
- 1/2 k. of prawns (about 12 pieces)
150 g. of bow-tie pasta (or your favorite pasta shape)
200 g. of baby asparagus, cut into two-inch lengths
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsps. of butter
3/4 c. of milk
1/4 c. of pasta water (i.e., the starchy water in which the pasta was boiled)
60 g. of mild cheddar cheese, grated
60 g. of cream cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Reserve some of the boiling water which is so useful for thickening the sauce.
While the pasta boils, clean the prawns. Pry off the heads (I froze them so I can use them for a Southeast Asian soup that I’ve been dying to make but can’t eat anyway) and peel off the shells together with the tails. Take a prawn, slit the back and pull off the black threadlike thing that runs along its length. That’s its digestive system with all its partially digested food so you don’t really want to eat that. Do the same with all the prawns.
Heat the butter in a pan. Add the chopped onion and cook gently until translucent.
Add the asparagus and cook for a minute.
Add the prawns. When the prawns start to change color, pour in the milk and pasta water. Add the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper. By the time everything boils, the cheeses will melt and once and the prawns will finish cooking. If you wait for the prawns to cook through before adding the rest of the ingredients, your prawns will get overcooked and turn tough. It never pays to overcook seafood.
Add the pasta to the sauce. Toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual pasta bowls and serve at once.
Quick Notes
Reminder to me: Next time, take step-by-step photos of how to clean and prepare shrimps and prawns.
Cooking time (duration): 20 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 3 to 4
Great recipe, Con! One that doesn’t cost much, yet deicious! To those who cannot eat shrimps, you can easily substitute the prawns with breast chicken or whatever meat available. For me, I will try out this dish with mussels and instead of asparagus, I will use brocolli or even baguio beans! Thanks for the recipe, Sassy!
LOVING this recipe. I love creamy pastas and this is so right up our alley! Nice job on such a great presentation!
Yes, I agree, this is taking comfort food to a higher level! And I’ve tried this dish already, but I used snow peas…and not the ribbon kind of pasta but the macaroni which are longer than the elbow kind. Really yummy!
Hi! Sorry for the ignorance…what kind of milk did you use? Thanks
As a rule, I use skim milk, the pour-and-drink kind.