If you are looking for a pasta dish with a difference, why not try this roasted red pepper pasta recipe with prawns? This is a quick and easy meal, perfect for when you’re short of time but still want to prepare a tasty dinner for the family. It’s made with orzo pasta, but there’s absolutely no reason why you couldn’t make it with rice instead.
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A 30-minute dinner
This dish of orzo pasta, red peppers and prawns has got to be one of the easiest (and tastiest) dinners you could wish for. It literally only takes 30 minutes from pan to plate and once everything is in the pan you can leave it for 15 minutes to cook itself while you toss a quick green salad together as a side dish.
It’s made with a jar of roasted peppers, which means you don’t have to go to the trouble of roasting your own red peppers first. Not only that, it’s all made in only one pan so there’s minimum washing up to do afterwards!
For extra flavour (and to get some more veggies in) I’ve added onions and tomatoes. And for even more flavour the pasta is cooked in vegetable stock rather than plain water.
I’ve added prawns (or shrimp if you live in the US), but there’s no reason why you couldn’t add chicken to this dish instead. And in fact, if you chose not to add any protein, this red pepper pasta makes the perfect side dish for a barbeque.
I think if you make this red pepper pasta dish once you’ll want to make it time and time again (in various forms) 🙂
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a saute pan or a frying pan for cooking the red pepper pasta. The pan should have a lid as you have to cover the pan while the pasta cooks. You will also need a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the vegetables.
Ingredients
This recipe will feed 2 people, but you can easily double up on the ingredients to make a larger batch.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this red pepper pasta with prawns on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Prawns (or shrimp) – for convenience I normally buy raw, frozen prawns. These prawns come ready-shelled with the back vein (or alimentary canal) removed, so all you have to do is to let them defrost before using.
Butter – this is used for frying the prawns – it gives the prawns a better flavour than using cooking oil.
Roasted red peppers – I used a small jar (295 grams or 10 ounces). You should drain the peppers and cut them into approximately half-inch pieces. Reserve the liquid – this will be added to the stock.
Onion and tomatoes – the onions should be peeled but there’s no need to peel the tomatoes. Cut them both into half-inch-sized pieces.
Garlic – this is optional and should be finely minced.
Orzo pasta – which is also known as risoni or rice noodles. If you prefer you can substitute this with rice, but you won’t get the same texture in the finished dish.
Stock – I used a vegetable stock pot and a cup of water – you could chicken flavour instead. And of course, if you have fresh stock you can use that too.
Salt – optional and to your own taste.
Sunflower oil – or other neutral-flavoured cooking oil – used for frying the onions and garlic.
Parsley – I like to stir a handful of chopped parsley into the finished dish.
What to do
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the prawns over medium heat until they have turned completely pink. Transfer the prawns to a plate and set them aside.
Add the sunflower oil to any remaining butter in the frying pan and stir-fry the onions and garlic until the onions have turned translucent. Add the tomatoes and continue to stir-fry until the tomatoes start to soften and break down.
Stir in the chopped peppers.
Mix the reserved red pepper liquid with sufficient water to make up 1 and a half cups, and add this to the pan along with the pasta, salt and the stock pot.
Stir well, then turn the heat down to a strong simmer, cover the pan with a lid and leave for approximately 15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is tender. Stir occasionally to ensure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the chopped parsley and the prawns and leave on a gentle heat until the prawns have warmed through.
Serve hot, with slices of garlic bread and a mixed green salad.
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Red pepper pasta FAQ
I wouldn’t freeze this dish. The texture of the pasta will be soft and unappealing once defrosted.
I wouldn’t store it longer than 2 days. You can reheat the dish either in a pan on the stove, or in the microwave.
I’ve made this red pepper pasta dish successfully with sliced chicken breast. Season sliced chicken with salt and a teaspoon of paprika and fry in butter until the chicken is white on the inside. Set the chicken aside (as we did with the prawns) and continue with the recipe, adding the chicken at the end.
You could also substitute the pasta for long-grain rice.
Yes – roasted red pepper pasta makes a delicious dish to serve as a salad when you’re having a barbeque. Simply leave out the prawns. Serve the salad at room temperature.
Save for later
If you would like to try this red pepper pasta yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
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Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, perhaps you’d like to take a look at some of my other easy pasta recipes:
- Tuna noodle salad with lemon – Tuna noodle salad is a quick and easy dish that you can serve either as part of your barbeque spread, or simply with a crusty bread roll for a light meal on its own.
- Tomato and onion pasta salad in a creamy cheese sauce – small pasta shells mixed with tomatoes and onions in a creamy cheesy sauce.
- Cheesy mince pasta – a one-pot meal made with tender pasta shells cooked with ground beef, tomatoes and onions in a cheesy sauce.
- Chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce – tender chunks of chicken in a creamy garlic mushroom sauce served on a bed of tagliatelle.
- Ham and mushroom tagliatelle with black pepper sauce – tasty ham and mushrooms in a creamy black pepper sauce served with pasta.
The recipe
Roasted red pepper pasta with prawns
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Saute pan OR
- Frying Pan with lid
Ingredients
- ½ pound / 225 grams raw frozen prawn meat (peeled weight), defrosted
- 1 ounce butter
- 10 ounces / 295 grams jar roasted red peppers diced and liquid reserved
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup / 150 grams orzo pasta (risoni)
- 1 vegetable stock pot
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 small bunch parsley finely chopped
- 1 cup water approximately
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the prawns over medium heat until they have turned completely pink. Transfer the prawns to a plate and set them aside.½ pound / 225 grams raw frozen prawn meat, 1 ounce butter
- Add the sunflower oil to any remaining butter in the frying pan and stir-fry the onions and garlic until the onions have turned translucent. Add the tomatoes and continue to stir-fry until the tomatoes start to soften and break down.1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 2 medium tomatoes
- Stir in the chopped peppers.10 ounces / 295 grams jar roasted red peppers
- Mix the reserved red pepper liquid with sufficient water to make up 1 and a half cups, and add this to the pan along with the pasta, salt and the stock pot.1 vegetable stock pot, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup water, ¾ cup / 150 grams orzo pasta
- Stir well, then turn the heat down to a strong simmer, cover the pan with a lid and leave for approximately 15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is tender. Stir occasionally to ensure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the chopped parsley and the prawns and leave on a gentle heat until the prawns have warmed through.1 small bunch parsley
- Serve hot, with slices of garlic bread and a mixed green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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