Very citrussy prawns with fried garlic bread and herb salad

Let's face it, none of us eat enough fish. Sometimes finding fresh fish can be a challenge and just isn't on our usual chore destination list. But with the abundance of well priced and frozen prawns available in all local supermarkets, it's not too hard to up our fish intake!

This quick, flavourful dish, made with easy to get and relatively pantry staples, is both fragrant to cook and moreish to eat! 

Put it on your midweek menu this week!

Ingredients

• zest and juice of 2 strong oranges, firm mandarins work best.
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• 1 small red chilli
• 300g prawns
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying
• 1 small bunch each of basil, coriander and mint
• 1 tbsp butter
• olive oil, for frying
• 4 chunky slices of crusty bread (something good for frying)
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika

Method

1. Put the zest and juice of both the clementines, lemon and 1 of the limes in a bowl with a big pinch of salt. Take the stalk off the chilli and split it down the middle. Add that to the citrus bowl.

2. Stir through the prawns, cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, finely slice 1 of the garlic cloves. Peel the other and bash it with the widest part of your knife (you want it to be bruised but to stay intact).

4. You can pre-make the salad dressing now too. In a mixing bowl, mix 1 tsp of honey with the sherry vinegar, the olive oil, a little salt and the juice of the remaining lime (you’ll want to zest a little lime over the finished prawns, so keep the squeezed lime for later).

5. Pick the basil and mint leaves from their stalks then discard the stalks. Trim just the very ends off the coriander. Wash them, pat them dry with kitchen paper and set aside.

6. You can make the toasts at the same time as frying the prawns, but it’s simpler to make them just before and keep them warm. Set a large frying pan over a medium heat with the butter, a splash of oil and the bashed garlic. When the butter has melted, add the bread, frying in the butter for about 1 minute (flip them and fry for another minute if your slices need toasting on both sides). Sprinkle with flaky salt and set aside.

7. When you come to cook the prawns, set a large frying pan over a low-medium heat with a glug of oil. Add the sliced garlic with a little salt and cook for 30 seconds, then turn the heat up. Add the prawns to the pan, holding back the marinading liquid. Consider transferring the prawns with tongs or a slotted spoon, as you don’t want to introduce too much liquid to the pan.

8. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the paprika and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked and starting to go gnarly in places thanks to the paprika. Remove from the pan and set aside.

9. Add the marinading liquid to the pan along with the remaining honey and a big pinch of salt. Let it bubble up and cook for about 3 minutes, or until it has reduced and become sticky and glossy. Turn off the heat and return the prawns to the pan briefly to coat them in the sticky glaze.

10. Add the herbs to the mixing bowl of dressing and use your hands to toss in the dressing.

11. To serve, take a big dish and pile the dressed herbs at one end and the prawns at the other. Zest a little lime over the prawns. Eat with the warm garlic toasts.