From going on tour and tooing and frowing back to uni, I’ve only had a few meals with my family since being home for the Easter hols, so today I decided to cook dinner for my dad. Lucky enough for me, he had some uncooked prawns from the deli counter that he’d thrown in the freezer, so we decided they’d be perfect this evening. I served them with chorizo and quinoa, in a sweet and hot tomatoey kind of sauce. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything(I definitely am), but it was sooo delicious. But I guess any dish that starts off with garlic, chilli, butter and prawns is bound to be a definite winner.
The prawns I used had their shells on, which I’m sure added flavour, but if I’m honest we thought they were just a bit of a pain in a dish like this, as you had to de-shell before devouring. Ain’t nobody got time for that. So I recommend using uncooked de-shelled prawns, but cooked prawns would also work just as well. This recipe is going to be a rough guide, because I was too hungry to pay much attention to what I was doing, so I’m not entirely sure what quantities I used (my bad), but it made about 4 portions (although we had an extra portion of prawns left over). I’m already looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and I’ve portioned up some for my bro to take to work too. I am the best sister ever.
Ingredients:
– 200g ish quinoa (makes enough for four)
– Stock (I used chicken)
– 1tsp butter
– 1/2 tsp coconut oil
– 2 gloves garlic
– Uncooked prawns
– Chilli flakes
– 1 onion
– 2/3 of a pre cured chorizo
– 1 red pepper
– 6-8 mushrooms
– 12 cherry tomatoes
– 1 tin chopped tomatoes
– 4tsp red pesto
– 1/2-1 tsp smoked paprika
– 1tsp oregano
– 1tsp mixed herbs
– 2tsp tomato ketchup
– Half bag of spinach
– Fresh coriander
– Basically anything else you want to whack in
Method:
1. Simmer the quinoa in the stock for around 20 minutes or until cooked, being sure that it doesn’t boil dry.
2. Meanwhile, put the butter and coconut oil in a wok and allow to melt. Add the garlic, prawns and chilli and cook on a medium heat. Cook the prawns until they are almost completely pink. They don’t need to be fully cooked as they’ll finish cooking later, and we don’t want to over cook them. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, slice the onion, chorizo, pepper and mushrooms and add to the pan. The juices from the prawns will add extra flavour making it even more tasty. Fry for around 5 minutes to soften the veg (you don’t need to add more oil as the chorizo will release its own oils)
4. Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the pan along with the chopped tomatoes. Mix in the pesto, paprika, oregano, mixed herbs, ketchup and any other flavours you fancy, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the prawns back into the pan and simmer for a further three minutes. Season with black pepper and salt, adding in a little more chilli if you like it hot.
6. Pour in the spinach and fold in well. Simmer for a final minute or two until the spinach has wilted. Serve in bowls with a sprinkle coriander.
Sammy's Kitchen 