Linguine alle canocchie (Squilla mantis linguine)
Serve: 4 pp // Prep: 45 minutes
Squilla mantis is a type of shrimp found in coastal areas of the Mediterranean countries and it is often call canocchia not only in Italy.
This shrimp is quite unknown in countries in northern Europe as it does not have a huge market outside of the area of origins but it can be found frozen through importers. Most of it is fished and consumed in Italy, as we love it to make pasta and it is delicious in stews. The main fishing months are in winter, away from the mating season.
The traditional method to prepare this sauce is pretty straight forward as the shrimps are cooked directly into the sauce with the shell on. Only the legs are removed and the body and heads are chopped in chunks and cooked with the sauce where the pasta is then dressed. In my recipe I prefer to dedicate more time and effort into carefully peeling the squilla mantis shrimps, a tedious task I know but the result is a creamier pasta sauce with no piece of shells. I then make a quick stock with the shells to add body and flavour to the sauce.
For the dish:
450 gr of linguine
500 gr of squilla mantis
500 gr of cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bay leaf
1 celery stalk
2 cloves of garlic
½ red chilli (optional)
1 sprig of parsley
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
60 ml of cooking wine
Lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Trim the shrimps with a scissor. Remove the eyes and the little legs and discard them then remove the heads and then carefully the shells from the meat. It is useful to cut the sides lengthwise to ease the meat from the shell.
The squilla mantis meat is very delicate so take your time to do this step. Keep the meat ready to one side and prepare a stock with the shells.
In a pan sweat the chopped onion and the celery with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. Now add the shrimp shells and roast on high heat for a few minutes. Add a bay leaf or any herbs you have available and pour in the wine. Let the alcohol evaporate for 30 seconds then cover with cold water. Do not add more water than needed or you will end with a watery stock, simply cover the shells.
Season with a pinch of salt and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve and keep the flavorful stock warm.
In a separate pan, fry the chopped garlic with chili in extra virgin olive oil until lightly golden. Now add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes. Now pour in enough stock to cover the tomatoes and simmer until reduced by half and the tomatoes have fully softened.
Drop the linguine in salted boiling water and cook for a minute less than indicated on the packet instruction. Drain and toss the pasta into the sauce and finish to cook it for an extra minute with the sauce while stirring and tossing on medium heat. Add a glug of pasta water (or extra stock if you still have it) only if the sauce is drying too much. At this stage turn off the heat, add the shrimp meat and a drizzle of oil and mix well. The remaining heat with cook and dissolve the shrimp and the movement will create a creamy emulsion. Season to taste, add chopped parsley and serve immediately.
