Awesome spaghetti recipe with mantis shrimps!

A delicious spaghetti recipe with mantis shrimps!

by Eirini Voulgari

This morning I went to the fishmonger to find atherinas but  I found lots of gorgeous mantis shrimps. So I cooked them with spaghetti. It turned out an insanely delicious dish!!! So, here's the recipe:

Ingredients for 3  portions:

• 500 gr of fresh mantis shrimps
• 1 cup of olive oil
• 2 tiny red chili peppers or 2 little pieces from a big one
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 300 gr of spaghetti
• a couple of fresh, ripe tomatoes
• some fresh parsley
• salt

Preparation:

1. Wash the mantis shrimps well in cold water and strain them.
2. Hold each one with your left hand in such a way that the back of the shrimp curves downwards. With a sharp knife, starting from its tail cut its shell along until you reach the head. Open the insicion and remove the coloured lengthy line and discard it. 
3. Peel the cloves of garlic and slice them in thin slices.
4. Wash, dry and cut the tomatoes in large pieces.
5. Wash, dry and julienne some parsley for cooking plus some more for garnishing.

Cooking:

1. Pour half the oil in a large frying pan or skillet. Place it on high heat. Add half the garlic and half the chili, mix with a wooden spatula and add half of your mantis shrimps right away. Let them fry for a minute only and then turn them over with tongs. Let them fry on the other side for a minute, too. Then remove the pan from the fire and take out each mantis shrimp with tongs. Place them in a tray and then pour the contents of the frying pan on them (oil, garlic, chili).

2. Pour the rest of the oil in the same frying pan on high heat. Add the rest of the garlic and chili and the rest of the mantis shrimps. Fry them in the same way as your first batch.

3. Add the tomato pieces in the pan and the salt. With tongs place the fried mantis shrimps from the tray back in the frying pan. Pour all their oil and herbs too from the tray in the frying pan. Sprinkle some salt and some parsley on them. Add a glass of hot water and cover with the lid. Let the mantis shrimps cook for 3-5 minutes. Then remove the pan from the fire and place each shrimp on a tray with tongs. 

4. Bring a pot with water to a boil over high heat. Then add some salt and the spaghetti. Let the spaghetti boil until it's only partly cooked.

5. Remove the pot from the fire and put the frying pan back on it. Hold the half-cooked spaghetti with tongs and place it in the frying pan where there is enough water and tomato juice for it to complete its cooking. Cover the pan with its lid and let the spaghetti cook al dente and remain with its sauce. If it's still hard, add some hot water from the water of the pot where the spaghetti boiled initially.

6. When the spaghetti is ready we serve it immediately topped with a couple of mantis shrimps and sprinkled with some parsley. We serve it hot!