Fregola with Roasted Vegetables and Prawns

For this edition of Presto Pasta Night I'll be using another Sardinian pasta called Fregola,

Fregola is similar to couscous - semolina is mixed with water and then hand-rolled to form small pellets. These pellets are then dried and toasted to form fregola

These are a lot larger than the fregola sarda I've used before - they are closer in size to moghrabieh.

Once again I'll be making a rather simple dish and combining the fregola with roasted vegetables and seared prawns.

Fregola with Roasted Vegetables and Prawns

Fregola
1 onion, quartered
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thickly
1 zucchini, cut into thick pieces
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced thickly
carrots, cut into thick sticks
mushrooms, quartered
asparagus spears
garlic cloves
tiger prawns, butterflied

Prepare the Vegetables:

Regardless of the vegetables you use, make sure they are cut to reflect their respective cooking tips. Since they will all be roasted together, cutting them to the right size will make sure they will cooking evenly.

Cook the Vegetables:

Place all your vegetables in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, along with a grinding of salt and pepper. Toss well and then spread out to form one layer on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven until cooked through.

Complete the dish:

Cook the fregola in boiling salted water until tender.

When the fregola is almost done, quickly cook the prawns in a hot pan.

Drain the fregola and place in a bowl along with the roasted vegetables - toss to combine and then spoon out onto serving bowls. Top with seared prawns and serve at once.

Pasta