garlic
prawns

Old fashioned but loved!

These days when I am having guests I try to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen. This means prepped to the max so that at the worst I maybe spend ten minutes in the kitchen to finish a course.

In winter I mainly like to start with oysters, but with a no to oysters, I decided to go for garlic prawns to great and undeserved acclaim. When possible I only use South Australian green prawn cutlets size 21/25, but thanks to the devastation of the algae bloom, most recently I have had to resort to Queensland Banana prawn cutlets $41 AUD per kilo. Expect to stump up, for quality local and or Australian product. Atlanta Oyster and Seafood are my fishmonger for oysters and fish. The Fish Factory for live crayfish and sometime sea urchins.

This is a generous and rich entrée portion, chopping the prawns into three or four and adding fresh home-made pasta it would be an excellent main course.

AO 24 AUGUST 2026

the day before

allow 6 prawns per person entrée and 8-9 for a main course
for a main course multiply the sauce component by 1.5

thaw in salt water, 35g sea salt to 1L filtered water

devein, pat dry and marinate in a splash of EVO and about 20g p/w finely chopped garlic. Press tightly together, contact cover and refrigerate.

1 leek, split, washed and dried, very finely sliced
75g unsalted butter
splash EVO
Maldon sea salt
white pepper, freshly and finely milled
1 medium lemon, finely grated rind, strained juice
125g, half a cup of white wine
400g quality pouring cream

very easy

Sweat the leek in the butter, EVO and lemon rind, season lightly. When they are softened add the wine and gently simmer until it is reduced by half. Add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer and then stir through the lemon juice.

Refridgerate.

day two and
to serve

splash vinegar….or more lemon juice [1]
finely chopped herbs….chives, parsley, chervil if you have it

Reheat the sauce base. You may need to add a little water, add a splash of vinegar, combine and set to one side. Working in a very hot pan with a small splash of additional EVO sauté the prawns a few at a time until they are half cooked and then tip them into the sauce. Repeat until all of the prawns have been seared.

Return the sauce and prawns to gentle heat and continue cooking, stirring over constantly, until the prawns are just set. Taste, adjust seasonings, stir through the herbs and serve immediately.

On hot plates of course!

[1] Be flexible with the type of vinegar you use, your choice will be influenced by the wine you have used. Probably best choice overall Leonardi Rosé to add a nice savoury foil for the richness of the cream. Equally you could use more lemon juice.

serve with

A puff pastry pillow [or in my instance bow] or a very small portion of plain rice, cooked with a couple of strips of lemon rind, or young lemon leaves.

OBVIOUSLY NOT GARLIC PRAWNS BUT ANOTHER EXCELLENT COLD PRAWN DISH WITH WASABI MAYONNAISE AND WASABI AND CUCUMBER SORBET CLICK ON THE IMAGE

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garlic prawns