Cooking with prawns

Go the prawn

Prawns, either green or cooked, are one of the most versatile seafoods available to us. There are a million-and-one recipes that you can make using prawns. The following three are light and delicious and just the thing to serve family and friends.

PRAWN WRAPS
This is a delicious alternative to sandwiches and is just as portable as a sandwich in travelling situations. The following quantities will serve four.

Roughly chop the cooked prawns. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the mayo, lime juice, chilli flakes and garlic.

Heat a heavy-based frypan over a medium heat. Place the tortillas, one at a time, in the frypan and cook, turning once, just until each tortilla is warmed through.

Spread each of the tortillas with a quarter of the mayo mixture. Pop a quarter of the chopped prawns onto each tortilla, followed by a quarter of the cheese. Divide the roasted capsicum strips evenly between the tortillas. Roll the tortillas up tightly and wrap in some plastic wrap until you are ready to serve. The tortillas can be eaten whole or sliced into 2cm lengths.

CHILLI COCONUT PRAWNS
There is a hint of Asia in this recipe. Please feel free to alter the amount of chilli that you use to suit your palate. I tend to make the paste in my home kitchen and then take it travelling with me in a sealed container. You can lower the fat content with low-fat coconut milk instead of the coconut cream. The following quantities will serve four.

To make the paste, you can use either a food processor or a mortar and pestle. Combine the lemon grass, onions, garlic, chillies, turmeric and coriander and process until it is quite smooth. You will get a much smoother consistency in the food processor than the mortar and pestle.
Heat the cooking oil in a heavy-based frypan or wok and add the processed paste. Cook, stirring, for about a minute until the mixture becomes aromatic. Add half of the tin of coconut milk and the Thai fish sauce. Continue to cook until the coconut cream mixture is just simmering. Add the peeled green prawns and the rest of the coconut cream to the frypan (or wok). Stir well and continue to cook until the prawns are pink and succulent.

Excellent served with some steamed Jasmine rice.

MEXICAN PRAWN DIP
This is one of the simplest prawn recipes to prepare that I know, but it tastes as if you spent hours on the preparation. You can serve this with Ritz, Jatz, corn chips or grilled tortilla wedges. Best of all, it is a great entertaining recipe that can be made in a couple of minutes. I can’t decide whether this dip tastes better hot or cold. Let me reassure you that I am still taste-testing for you.

Place the salsa in a medium-sized saucepan and gently heat. Add he sliced shallots if you are using them. Roughly chop the peeled prawns and add to the salsa. Continue to cook until the prawns are just pink and tender. Add the grated cheese and stir well to combine. Continue to cook until the cheese has melted slightly.

Serve the Mexican prawn dip hot or cold with an assortment of crisps.