Garlic & Basil King Prawns

 

Todd just adores Prawns. Its not something I cook for him very often, but every once in a while I do treat him to some.

 

I am allergic to them, so I have to be careful. I am okay cooking them, just not okay eating them. There is no reason that he should be deprived of something he loves simply because I can't eat it myself.  He puts up with me cooking pizza and pasta from time to time after all!

 

We get beautiful King Prawns from the people at Seafresh Quality Foods.  Seafresh is an on line fish monger which sells quality fish, seafood, poultry and meat.  I have always been incredibly impressed with both their product and their delivery service!  I have never had a bad experience. You can read about my first experience here!

 

Nothing has changed.  I am still just as impressed with them as I have always been and will always highly recommend them to anyone wanting to purchase quality seafood, fish, poultry and meat.

 

What I really love about their King Prawns is that they are quick frozen individually. I can take out as many or as little as I want, which makes them very handy to use and ideal for us as we are a small family.  Also because only Todd eats them, I can take out just enough for him to enjoy without having to thaw out the whole pack.  They are also shelled and de-veined at the source, so, once defrosted, you can just cook them without any messing about.

 

I had leftover pizza for breakfast this morning (I know, very naughty!) and so I knew I wouldn't be really hungry or wanting a large dinner.  This was the perfect day for me to cook Todd his favourite King Prawns.

 

I had some fresh basil which needed using up, and fresh cherry tomatoes that were near their use by date as well.  I decided to incorporate them into a quick and easy stir fry that I thought he would enjoy!

 

This is such a quick and easy make.  In fact that is one thing that I really love about fish and sea food. It cooks really quickly and is my go to choice when it comes to wanting to get a dinner on the table pronto!

 

Raw and defrosted King Prawns are sauteed in a bit of olive oil on both sides to begin with. It doesn't take very long, about 2 minutes altogether, to cook prawns. They cook really fast.  As soon as they turn pink they are done.  Don't be afraid and over cook them, if you do you will be disappointed as over-cooked prawns are rubbery.  They will continue to cook as they sit, so about two minutes cook time is actually perfect!

 

Once they are cooked, you scoop them out and add some garlic and red chili flakes to the pan.  You only need to cook these until they are fragrant. The smell of that lovely garlic will permeate the air and you will be able to smell the heat of the chilies. How much chili you add it up to you. I only add a pinch.

 

It is really important that you don't allow the garlic to brown.  Browning it turns it bitter, so really be careful that this doesn't happen. Only cook until you can smell it. 

 

After that you add some dry white wine.  I buy small bottles of wine (red and white), each holding only about 1 glass of wine, just for cooking purposes. We don't drink wine.  Today I used an Australian Chardonnay.  You let that bubble up for about 3 minutes and then you throw in the tomatoes and basil, seasoning the mix with some salt and pepper.

 

How long you cook the tomatoes is up to you. I like them to be fairly wilted so that they release their juices as this makes a bit of a sauce for the prawns.  Once your tomatoes are done as much as you like, you can just re-add the prawns to the pan and heat them through briefly.

  

That's it! Dinner is served!  I spooned this over some steamed white rice for Todd, but they would also be really lovely spooned over pasta.

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Garlic & Basil King Prawns

Quick, easy, colourful & delicious!

ingredients:

• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 560g King Prawns, peeled and deveined (1 1/4  pounds)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• pinch crushed red chili flakes, or more to taste
• 180ml dry white wine (3/4 cup)
• 225g cherry tomatoes, halved (1 1/2 cups)
• 5g of fresh basil, julienned (1/4 cup)
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• cooked rice to serve

instructions:

How to cook Garlic & Basil King Prawns

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet with a heavy bottom over medium-high heat.  Add the prawns and cook, turning once, until just cooked through. This should not take much more than 2 minutes. They will be pink in colour. (Don't over cook as it will toughen them.  Remember they will continue to cook as they stand.)  Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm.
2. Add the garlic and the chili flakes to the pan and cook until quite fragrant, about 30 seconds. Do not allow the garlic to brown as this will turn it bitter.  Add the wine and allow it to bubble up for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and cook for a further few minutes, stirring., and tossing them in the pan juices.  Stir in the basil and return the prawns to the pan.  Heat through and then serve spooned over rice.

Did you make this recipe?

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Created using The Recipes Generator

 

Todd really feels special when I cook something like this just for him.  That makes me happy! 

A few things about Seafresh:

• Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
• All packages are carefully hand packed.
• Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount. 
• Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
• Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
• Wide variety to choose from. 

Do check them out on their website to find out more.
Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Note - Although I was gifted with product free of charge for the purposes of review, I was not required to write a positive review in exchange, nor would my integrity allow me to recommend anything if I did not truly like it. Any and all my opinions are my own entirely.