Mezzancolli al Cognac

Name: Mezzancolli al Cognac
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds large prawns or medium langoustines, unshelled; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; Fine sea salt; 1 cup dry white wine; 1 cup Cognac; Juice of 1 large lemon; Freshly ground pepper

January 24, 2012

A patently rustic treatment of the prawns that presses us to a dramatic sort of dance in front of the flame as we toss the fat, handsome things about in the hot oil, their briny perfumes dissolving up in great vapors around our heads. A bottle of fine Cognac perched on the kitchen shelf seems an occurrence as common in Rome as is the one filled with the simple white wine from the hills just outside its gates. Here, the bottle is used to a fine end, scenting the seething, sputtering flesh of the prawns inside their bronzed, vermilion shells.

Recipe notes

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