Prepare the king prawns.
Boil the tomatoes for 1 minute; then peel them, remove their seeds and cut the flesh into pieces.
Put the tomatoes, onion, bay leaves, tomato paste, wine and half the chopped chives and parsley in a non-stick frying pan; season to taste with salt and cook, half-covered over a medium heat, stirring now and then. When the cooking juice is almost retired, add the king prawns and ham and stir very well. If you like a longer cooking, you have to add some water at the beginning.
Meanwhile cook the short pasta you've chosen in a plenty of salted water until "al dente" stage. Drain it very well and pour into the pan together with the remaining chives and parsley. Stir very well and cook over a fierce heat for some moments in order to amalgamate all the flavours, stirring now and then. Switch off the flame, pour in the olive oil, stir and serve at once.

Note

• - It's a tasty single-course meal; you can complete it with fresh seasonal fruit.
• - If you want to prepare it for a special occasion, you have to shell the king prawns but let the head. So it's simpler to eat them.
• - If you don't find fresh chives, you can use dried one (2-3 tablespoons according to your taste).
• - If you don't find fresh, ripe tomatoes, you can substitute them with canned peeled tomatoes (6-7).
• - You can also realize this recipe with a different shape of short pasta, if you don't find strozzapreti.
• - This is an healthy recipe: the olive oil is added at the end of the cooking and all the ingredients are not fried. You can also make it without salt: it's tasty!

What's the right wine for " Italian pasta with king prawns and boiled ham " ?

Our suggestion is: Riviera del Garda Bresciano Chiaretto (rosé wine from Lombardy - Italy) or Collio Pinot Grigio (white wine from Friuli-Italy).