Mafaldine Kombu and Shrimp Pasta

It has almost been a year since I have been to Sydney, Australia where I got to try this most insanely delicious mafaldine kombu and shrimp pasta. I tried this at Ragazzi in Sydney’s Central Business District. Now, over in Australia they call them prawns and not shrimp. This was such an unsuspectingly delicious dish as weird as the fusion of Italian and Japanese ingredients may sound, but trust me…it is so worth it! I have made this about three times in the last year and my family goes crazy for it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 15 grams kombu cut into strips
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1½ cups water
• 60 grams butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• ½ cup reserved kombu cooking liquid
• 12 large king prawns finely chopped
• 250 grams Mafalde pasta
• salt and pepper to taste

Prepare

Kombu Butter

1. Start with the Kombu Butter: combine kombu, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and water in a small saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Remove kombu from the pan and finely chop. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
3. Combine finely chopped kombu with room temperature butter and a tablespoon of cooking liquid in a bowl. Use a fork to mash until ingredients are well combined and then set aside.

For the Pasta

1. First, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil add Mafaldine and cook for 8 minutes.
2. While the Mafaldine is cooking make the sauce. Heat a large fry pan (skillet) over medium heat and add the olive oil then the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant but not browned.
3. Next add the chopped cherry tomatoes and ½ cup of reserved kombu cooking liquid. Add the tomato paste and stir until dissolved into the sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to flatten them as they soften.
4. Next add the kombu butter to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine with the tomatoes.
5. Add the chopped prawns and stir through sauce till just cooked (about 1 minute).Add more of the reserved cooking liquid as needed to keep the pasta from going dry.
6. Finally, use tongs to transfer Mafaldine straight from the pot to the pan with the sauce and toss well to combine. Turn off the heat and allow pasta to sit for 1 minute before serving.