Boiled rice with peppers and prawns

Serves 4:

350 g rice

300 g  cleaned prawns

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
4/6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
pepper

Wash and clean the peppers and cut into dices or strips. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and gently fry the garlic for a few minutes. Remove the garlic, add the peppers, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 10/15 minutes until the peppers soften. In the meantime, wash the prawns under running water, remove their head and carapace. With a toothpick or sharp knife make a small incision on the upper part of the body to remove the intestines, or black thread, which contains sand and makes the crustacean bitter. Once cleaned, dry the prawns with kitchen paper. When the peppers have softened, add the prawns and the chopped parsley, stir to blend well and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. Boil the rice, drain it and toss it in the pan with the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

Pasta dishes

Pasta with peppers

Serves 4

350 pasta rigatoni or sedani rigati

400 g  tomato puree

1 clove garlic

2 large yellow bell peppers

8 basil leaves

150 g provola cheese

30 g grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup olive oil

salt

Put in a saucepan the tomato puree, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and half a glass of water and let simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, add the Parmesan and stir well until it is blended into the sauce. Meanwhile, wash and dry the peppers and roast them under the grill, or on the fire; peel them and free them of the stalks and seeds. Then cut them into strips. Heat the remaining oil in a pan with the peeled garlic and the chopped basil ; add the peppers and let them cook for a few minutes on high heat; add the salt and remove from heat, discarding the garlic. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, drain it very  “al dente” and toss with the tomato sauce. In a baking dish make a layer of pasta; cover with a layer of grated provola and half of the peppers; make a second layer of pasta and cover with the remaining peppers and provola. Pour over the cooking oil of the peppers and place under the oven grill for 5 minutes. Serve immediately