Calamarata with Red Prawns

Clean the prawns by removing the head and shell, keeping the tails in a bowl. Crush the heads by hand to extract the juice, collecting it in another bowl. Place the juiced heads into a thick-bottomed pot.

Season the prawn tails with salt, cumin, extra virgin olive oil, chopped parsley, and grated lemon zest. Mix well and let rest in the fridge while you prepare the rest.

In the pot with the prawn heads, heat a little extra virgin olive oil. Add basil, parsley, thinly sliced ginger, and a crushed garlic clove. Pour in a glass of champagne (or prosecco), cover, and let simmer over low heat for 10–15 minutes so the heads release all their flavor.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the calamarata until al dente.

In a pan, heat a drizzle of oil and lightly sauté a garlic clove. Add the prawn juice and the strained aromatic broth from the pot.

At this point, you have two options:

• With tomato passata: add the passata and let it simmer gently for a few minutes. Adjust salt if needed.
  In another pan, toast a spice mix (turmeric, cumin, cubeb pepper, and salt) in a bit of oil, then add the marinated prawns. Cook briefly until just pink.

• With our Tomato sauce: add our ready-made Tomato sauce directly, already rich in Italian tomatoes and a balanced blend of turmeric, cumin, and ginger. Let it simmer with the broth and prawn juice for a few minutes.
  In this case, use just one pan: heat oil and cook the marinated prawns (no extra spices needed) until pink.

Drain the calamarata and add it to the pan with the prawns. Pour in the sauce (passata-based or Tomato, depending on your choice) and toss everything together.

Serve immediately, hot!
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