Chilli and Garlic King Prawns

It’s very rare that I just cook meat and fish without mixing it with other elements to make a substantial dish. Far too often my head and the cost of food over rules what I would actually love to cook for dinner. However, last weekend our plans away were cancelled and we ended up staying in Bristol, which was so welcome. We therefore decided to treat ourselves to these amazing prawns for a starter on Saturday night. The fish monger sold these as the Rolls Royce of Prawns, and I’m not going to lie, there were meatier and tastier than I have had in any restaurant. Also because we cooked them shell on, it meant that you don’t over power the flavour of the prawns and are left with the most delicious juices to mop up with some chunky fresh bread. If you are aiming to impress with a starter, then this recipe could be it!

Serves 2

–          350kg king prawns

–          1 red and 1 green chilli – finely chopped

–          10g ginger – minced

–          3 cloves garlic – minced

–          Juice of 2 limes

–          1 tbsp vodka

–          1 tbsp chopped coriander

–          1 tbsp olive oil

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and marinate for half an hour

Heat a pan to a high temperature and fry the prawns, with all the marinade for 3-6 minutes (depending on the size). Mine were very large so I cooked them for 6 minutes, but smaller prawns would not need so long.

Once the skin is pink and the meat white (not grey) then they are ready.

Served hot with plenty of bread to soak up the scrummy juices