Spaghettoni alla Pizzaiola

Who: Chef Tommaso Calonaci, head chef of Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence, Italy

Instagram: @GrandHotelMinerva

Chef Calonaci’s Guest-Worthy Recipe:

Spaghettoni alla Pizzaiola

Why?

“This dish is the best comfort food we have in Italy that brings together friends and family for group dinners. My interpretation respects that tradition of the dish, while adding a little twist to make it a bit more interesting.”

Ingredients:

18 oz spaghetti

3 lbs Datterini tomatoes

3.5 oz fresh basil

4 pieces of garlic

1 oz extra virgin olive oil

15 pieces of red prawns

9 oz burrata cheese

1 c fresh milk

Oregano, finely chopped

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

For the pizzaiola sauce: Cut the Datterini tomatoes in half and leave them to marinate for 24 hours with abundant garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme. The next day, cook them in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. Save a few on a side and blend the rest in a blender.

For the burrata cream: Cut the fresh burrata into four pieces and blend it together with oil, salt, and pepper.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water. Once cooked, add it to the tomato sauce and season with extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the spaghettoni on the plate, add the burrata cream, and place the red prawns on top.

Decorate with fresh basil and the leftover oven-roasted tomatoes.