CHUCK ANOTHER PRAWN ON THE BARBIE

Heres a few prawn recipes I recently used at a seafood barbecue – hope you enjoy trying them out while summer’s still here!

The Number One rule for cooking seafood – DON’T OVERCOOK IT!!

The Number two rule for cooking seafood – use high quality products, and keep to clean and simple flavours which ENHANCE the natural flavours rather than disguise them

Garlic prawns

          Melt 2 tbsp butter or olive oil on your hot grill plate.  Toss in 500g raw peeled, deveined prawns, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tsp minced ginger, and a pinch of sea salt.  Toss well in the butter or oil until the prawns change colour all over.  To serve straight from the barbecue, cook on each side a further minute, then dig in.  To serve at the table, remember that the hot prawns will continue cooking while you serve, take to the table, and get everyone seated, so as soon as their colour changes all over, take them off the heat to avoid them overcooking.

          This recipe works equally well using a wide variety of spices straight from the supermarket shelf – try experimenting with the following tasty flavours by adding a teaspoon to the above recipe:

          Lemon pepper mix

          Moroccan spice mix

          Cajun spice mix (a little spicier and more peppery than the creole mix)

          Piri piri spice mix (more spicy again)

Try experimenting with different herbs

- basil, coriander or tarragon are all a great match

          Or just keep it simple with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Chilli garlic prawns

          Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your wok, add 500g prawn flesh, and ½ tablespoon garlic.  Toss well for a minute to just start colouring the prawns, then take the prawns out of the wok into a bowl.

          Heat ½ jar of my Voodoo Moon ‘Seven Gates of Hell’ or ‘Eternal Damnation’ chilli sauces (Eternal Damnation is for the braver amongst you!) to boiling point, then add the prawns and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

          Serve immediately over steamed rice, or in a bowl with crusty bread to dip in the sauce.

Mild Indian Korma Curried prawns

          Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, ghee, or butter in your wok.  Add 500g prawn flesh, and toss well for a minute to just start colouring the prawns, then take the prawns out of the wok into a bowl.

          Heat another tablespoon oil, ghee or butter, and add ¾ tablespoon of Indian Korma curry paste, ½ teaspoon each of ginger and garlic, and stir fry quickly for a minute until very fragrant.

          Return the prawns to the wok and cook for 1 ½ - 2 minutes, then add 4 tablespoons of thick Greek style plain yoghurt, and stir in well.  Bring back up to a simmer, but be careful not to boil for fear of the yoghurt splitting.

          Once the sauce is hot again, serve immediately over steamed rice with fresh coriander garnish, or with poppadoms to dip.

Prosciutto wrapped scallops with basil

          Take ten plump scallops, and cut strips from thin slices of prosciutto long enough to wrap right around the outside of the scallop.  Select fresh basil leaves about 1 ½ - 2 cm long, then hold a basil leaf against each scallop, wrapping it into place with the prosciutto, and securing with a toothpick all the way through the scallop, leaving the beautiful rich orange/pink roe on.

          Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the hot grill plate, placing the scallops on.  Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and, if you like, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  Cook each side for 1 – 1 ½ minutes.  Just before serving, toss gently on all sides, then serve immediately.

Swordfish skewers with bacon

          Cut 500g swordfish steaks into 1 -1 ½ cm dice , and cut several rashers of bacon into long strips lengthwise the same thickness.  Cut some squares of red onion the same size as the fish cubes.

Thread the bacon onto a wooden skewer, then a cube of fish, followed by a piece of red onion, then twine the bacon through again, repeating the process until the skewer is full apart from a fingerhold at one end.  If the bacon strip is used up, start another, all the while winding it around and around the fish cubes like a snake.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on the medium-hot grill, then lay the skewers down evenly and cook on each side for 2 or 3 minutes until the swordfish is cooked ¾ through or only JUST through (any more and it will be very dry).  Serve immediately with tequila lime mayonnaise (below)

Tequila Lime Mayonnaise

          2 egg yolks, 4 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp tequila 

Mix well together in a blender or in a bowl with a stick blender

          1 - 1 ½ cups Canola or vegetable oil

Drizzle the oil in very slowly, while the blender is running, until the mayonnaise becomes thick and develops a creamy shine to it.

As a simpler alternative, just add the same quantity of lime juice and tequila to 1 ½ cups of plain store bought mayonnaise

Be excellent to each other

Shane Pinnegar

February 2005