Gamberi alla busara (prawns with cherry tomato sauce)
- Published: 31 Aug 24
- Updated: 24 Sep 24
The joy of this dish – a classic of Venetian cuisine – comes in using your hands to eat the prawns. The prawn shells flavour the oil too, so don’t be tempted to use peeled! Serve with bread or as a sauce for pasta.
Discover all the good stuff Veneto has to offer in our food lover’s guide to the region – including an epic pasta recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 12 large shell-on prawns
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 125ml dry white wine
- Handful chopped parsley
Method
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the prawns and fry for a few minutes, tossing regularly. They shouldn’t be cooked through at this point; you’re just flavouring the oil. Lift the prawns onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as you can.
- Turn the heat down to medium, then add the garlic and chilli. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes and wine. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have collapsed and the sauce has reduced. Season with salt and pepper. Add the prawns, cover, then simmer for 5 minutes until the prawns are cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.
- Recipe from September 2024 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 242kcals
- Fat
- 8.6g f(1.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 27g
- Carbohydrates
- 5.8g (5.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.4g
- Salt
- 0.5g
delicious. tips
Both Italy’s Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions claim this fine dish as their own (although Veneto tends to win the argument). There’s also a Croatian version (škampi na buzaru) that uses langoustines or scampi instead of prawns. The ‘busara’ supposedly refers to the pot they’re cooked in.
Buy ingredients online
Rate & review
Rate
Reviews
Subscribe to our magazine
Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.
SubscribeUnleash your inner chef
Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter