Angela Day's delicious and light prawn recipes are sure to impress guests at your next dinner party.
ON THE MENU:
Lemon Chilli Prawn Risotto
Citrus Coconut Prawn Curry
Prawn Pops
Sumac Prawns With Sweetcorn Salsa
LEMON CHILLI PRAWN RISOTTO
Serves 6-8
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
350g prawns, peeled
60g butter
30ml olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
500ml Arborio rice
250ml white wine
1 litre of boiling chicken stock
juice and rind of 3 lemons
125ml chopped fresh parsley
125ml grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
In a bowl, combine the garlic, chillies and prawns and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat half the butter in a frying pan and stir-fry the prawns over high heat until slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter and the oil in a pot and saute the onion until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the Arborio rice and stir for a minute until the rice is completely coated.
Add the wine and simmer for 5 minutes until all the wine has evaporated.
Add the hot stock one ladle at a time to the rice, stirring until the stock is absorbed by the rice. Continue this process until all the stock has been added to the risotto and the rice is just cooked. It should take about 20 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and rind, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir through the prawns and cook for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
SUMAC PRAWNS WITH SALSA
Serves 4-6
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
80ml olive oil
60ml lime juice
30ml sumac
5ml chilli powder
5ml salt
500g prawns, shell on, deveined and butterflied
SWEETCORN SALSA
1 ear of sweet corn
1 avocado, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1 small red onion,
finely diced
juice of 1 lime
30ml olive oil
salt and pepper
125ml chopped fresh coriander
Combine garlic, olive oil, lime juice, sumac, chilli powder and salt in a bowl.
Add the prawns and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Heat a griddle pan to hot and griddle the prawns a few at a time for 3 minutes a side or until cooked through.
Serve immediately with sweetcorn salsa.
SALSA: Boil the sweetcorn in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or microwave on high for 3 minutes.
Remove, cool and cut the kernels from the cob using a sharp knife.
Combine with the rest of the ingredients. Check seasoning.
NOTE: Sumac is a Mideast spice available at spice shops and from larger Woolworths stores. If you don't have it, you can use a Moroccan spice mix.
CITRUS COCONUT PRAWN CURRY
Serves 4-6
400g prawns, deveined and peeled
zest and juice of 1 orange
5ml salt
15ml olive oil
5ml chopped garlic
10ml chopped ginger
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
400g tin of coconut milk
250ml fish stock
250ml chopped fresh coriander
juice of lime
salt and pepper
Marinate the prawns in the orange zest and juice and salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper and chilli for 10 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and fish stock and simmer without the lid for 20 minutes, or until reduced and slightly thickened.
Add the prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes or until they are just cooked through.
Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Season, and serve on a bed of rice if desired.
PRAWN POPS
Makes 12-14
12-14 large prawns, peeled and deveined
250ml flour
3 eggs, slightly beaten
500ml panko breadcrumbs
60ml sesame seeds
oil, for frying
5ml salt
sweet chilli sauce, for serving
Place a prawn flat on a cutting board, leg side down and insert a wooden skewer from the tail to the head. The prawn should be as straight as possible on the skewer.
Next, set up a breading station. Put the flour in a shallow dish, the beaten eggs in a second, and combine the breadcrumbs and sesame seeds and place in a third.
Working one skewer at a time, dredge lightly in flour and shake off the excess. Dip in egg and turn evenly to coat. Place in the breadcrumb mixture and turn until well coated. Place on a tray.
Repeat with the remaining skewers.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a pot or deep-fat fryer until hot. Carefully lower prawns into the hot oil and fry until golden.
Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Wipe the skewers with clean paper towel. Serve the prawns immediately with sweet chilli sauce.
NOTE: Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese breadcrumbs and are available from Asian stores and Woolworths. They can be replaced with fresh white breadcrumbs.
* The Angela Day cookery column is published in The Star, the Cape Argus, the Daily News and the Pretoria News.