In the five years since its inception, Fortitude Valley restaurant Biànca has become a powerhouse member of Anyday Group’s portfolio. Taking classic trattoria-style dishes and elevating them with fresh, seasonal produce, the restaurant remains a favourite among fans of Italian cuisine. Earlier this month, Anyday culinary director Ben Williamson debuted a brand-new menu, filled with clean, light, flavour-packed dishes as well as plenty of Biànca’s cult favourites. As a little taste of what’s available, Ben has shared the recipe for the new menu’s headline dish – the prawn spaghettini. If you need some dinner inspo this week, have a crack at this delectable dish …
Serves two | Prep time 20 minutes | Cooking time 13 minutes with dry pasta or four minutes for fresh pasta
INGREDIENTS
180 g fresh or good-quality dried spaghettini
Prawn Sauce
180 g banana prawns, finely diced
10 g garlic, thinly sliced
10 g long red chilli, thinly sliced
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
120 ml pinot grigio or similar dry white wine
200 ml reserved pasta water
To Finish
20 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
10 ml white soy sauce
15 g lemon juice (approximately ⅓ lemon)
To Serve
5 g fresh chervil, picked
TO MAKE
Method for prawn spaghettini
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rapid boil.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, sliced garlic and sliced chilli. Cook for approximately two minutes, stirring regularly so the garlic does not burn.
Add the finely diced prawns and season with salt. Increase the heat slightly and cook for approximately two minutes, stirring and breaking up the prawns with a spoon. The prawns should sizzle rather than boil.
Deglaze the pan with the Pinot Grigio and reduce by half.
Add 200 ml of the pasta cooking water and reduce by half. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Method for spaghettinni
If using dried pasta, follow the cooking instructions on the packet.
Cook the pasta for approximately two minutes less than the recommended cooking time, as it will finish cooking in the sauce. For example, if the pasta cooking time is 11 minutes, cook it for 9 minutes, then drain and transfer directly into the sauce.
Return the pan to medium heat and cook the pasta in the sauce for the remaining two minutes, tossing regularly so the pasta absorbs the sauce.
Finish the sauce
Add the white soy sauce, lemon juice and chopped parsley to the pasta.
Remove the pan from the heat and toss the pasta well to create the mantecato effect, where the sauce, juices and pasta are emulsified and fully incorporated.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
To Serve
Place the prawn spaghettini into a serving bowl. Garnish with the picked fresh chervil.
Serve immediately.
Biànca’s prawn spaghettini features on the restaurants brand-new menu alongside the likes of veal cotoletta alla Milanese, fried mussels and more. Click here to make a booking.
