By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 4
218 cal · 30 min
Ayamase Prawn Pasta
Recipe GLPR8978ac6166bb98
A vibrant West African-inspired seafood pasta featuring succulent prawns in a fragrant green pepper and palm oil sauce with aromatic spices. The dish combines tender pasta with a rich, herbaceous sauce balanced with scotch bonnet heat and the earthy depth of ground crayfish, creating an authentic and satisfying main course.
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Ingredients
2 cups pasta (dry weight)
1 green bell pepper
2 scotch bonnet peppers
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons red palm oil
1 tablespoon ground crayfish
Salt to taste
1 bouillon cube
1 cup fresh prawns, peeled and deveined
1 cup fresh green peas
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente, then drain and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce base: roughly chop the green bell pepper and scotch bonnet peppers, removing most of the seeds from the bonnet peppers to control heat if desired. Chop the onion into chunks and add all to a blender with the minced garlic cloves and a splash of water. Blend until you achieve a smooth paste.
Heat the red palm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, pour in the blended pepper paste and stir continuously for 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the flavors to deepen and the raw edge to cook off.
Crumble in the bouillon cube and stir in the ground crayfish, mixing well to distribute the spices evenly throughout the sauce. Season with salt to your preference.
Add the peeled and deveined prawns to the sauce and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently, until they turn opaque and reach an internal temperature of 145F.
Stir in the fresh green peas and cook for another 2 minutes until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss gently to coat all the pasta evenly with the fragrant green pepper sauce. Serve immediately while hot.
Comments
Red palm oil and ground crayfish force a trip to an African market—neither Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Publix, Walmart, ALDI, nor Kroger banners stock these reliably—which is a real cost for a weeknight pasta. The recipe's 30-minute timer doesn't account for sourcing those two specialty items, and cost per serving climbs to $6–$8 depending on prawn prices and where you buy the oil and crayfish. The dish itself is straightforward once ingredients are in hand: a bold, one-pot green pepper sauce over prawns and pasta that reheats well, and scotch bonnet and bouillon cube are available at most Charlotte grocers. This works beautifully for someone with an African market connection or who meal-plans around specialty trips, but not for a spontaneous Thursday dinner.
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