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Lime and chilli marinated prawns with minted guacamole
Serves 6 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 24 really fresh, raw, shell-on king prawns
- 1 fat garlic clove, crushed to a purée
- 1 fat red chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped or sliced
- 11⁄2tsp sugar
- 1tsp nam pla (fish sauce)
- juice 3 limes
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- butter, for cooking
For the guacamole
- 2 large ripe avocados
- 4 spring onions, very finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 2tbsp chopped mint
- juice 1-2 limes
- 24 mint leaves or small sprigs, crisped up in iced water
Method
Twist the heads off the prawns (you can save these or freeze them to make a prawn stock for another time). Carefully peel off the shells and legs, leaving the tails intact for decoration. Lay each prawn flat on its side and make a deep incision down its back so that it can be opened out flat. Using the tip of a knife, flick out any traces of the dark vein, rinse carefully and pat dry. Arrange the prawns on a large platter, cover with cling film and refrigerate.
Now make the marinade. Mix all of the remaining ingredients except for the butter together, taste, then adjust to suit – you are aiming at a refreshing sour/sweet/ warm not hot/not too salty mix. Transfer to a jar, cover and chill. Around one hour before serving, spoon the marinade sparingly over the prawns, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge.
Just before serving, halve the
avocados, scoop the flesh into
a bowl and mash with a fork
to give a rough texture. Mix in
the spring onions, chopped
tomato, chopped mint and lime
juice to taste and season well.
When ready to serve, fry the prawns quickly in the butter until pink. Drain the mint leaves and pat dry. Scatter the mint leaves over the prawns and add a small amount of guacamole to each plate. Serve immediately.
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