Paccheri pasta filled with ricotta and prawns

‘Paccheri’ is a large, versatile pasta shape that lends itself well both to being stuffed with various fillings, and to being mixed in the normal way with unusual sauces. Today we’re going to make a recipe with a delicate flavour that will delight seafood-lovers: paccheri pasta stuffed with ricotta and prawns. A touch of colour is provided by the tomato paste and garnish of parsley, while it’s up to you to decide how to balance the quantities of ricotta and prawn. Remember to count out about 10 or so paccheri per person, cooking a few more in case some break during the boiling stage. Moreover, given their shape, add a drizzle of olive oil to the cooking water so that they don’t stick together.

Clean all the prawns thoroughly, taking care to remove the black intestinal line. Chop them into pieces. In a pan, sauté a clove of garlic and then add the chopped prawn. Add the tomato paste. After a minute, add the wine and allow it to reduce - if you prefer, you can use brandy. Meanwhile, boil the paccheri pasta in salted water. Throw away the garlic and set aside a handful of prawns; blend the remaining. Put them back in the pan and add the ricotta and Parmesan. Mix well, if necessary adding a tablespoon of pasta cooking water, but don’t overdo it because you have to use the sauce to fill the pasta. Season with salt. When the pasta is cooked, fill them one by one with the sauce, then with the set aside prawns, a dash of olive oil and a few leaves of parsley.