Keep it light with prawns - recipes

Published Nov 12, 2015

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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.

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