I always associate prawns with summer; they are somewhat cooling and don’t require all that much cooking.
My absolute favourite prawn dish would be spaghetti with chilli and garlic flavoured prawns. Since I do like the taste of brown rice pasta, I have been making this dish so many times this summer that I have lost count already.
The best part with this is that it requires only 10 minutes of cooking time; therefore it is ready when the spaghetti is done. I also usually have the ingredients at home, so I can make this whenever I feel like it. Everything is also easily adjustable, you can substitute the prawns with some tofu for example and using some fresh herbs would also be a nice adjustment. I used some dried oregano in the recipe – it has a stronger taste than fresh oregano – since I think that almost everyone has dried oregano at home almost all the time? You can substitute the cherry tomatoes with some canned tomatoes too, although fresh summery cherry tomatoes do have a nice sweet taste to them, especially if they are organic.
Gluten-free spaghetti with prawns
Serves 2 as a main meal
-1 cup peeled and cooked prawns
-1 tbls olive oil and 1 tbls butter
-1 tsp dried red chilli flakes, this amount will make for a very hot dish, so reduce the amount if you would like a milder taste
-2 minced garlic cloves
-salt according to taste, I use 1 tsp and I do like a lot of salt in my foods
-enough cherry tomatoes to cover the pan
-2 tsp oregano
Start cooking the spaghetti.
Take a pan and place it on medium heat. Add one tablespoon butter and one tablespoon of olive oil on the pan. Mince the garlic and fry it for a small while on the pan, one minute is usually enough.
Using minced garlic produces a different flavour than pressed garlic.
Add the chilli flakes to the pan and fry them for about half a minute. Take the prawns and place them on the pan just so that they warm up and soak some of the flavoured of the pan. Place them on a plate and set aside.
Half the tomatoes and place them on the pan; press them slightly so that the juices run out of them. Sprinkle the oregano on them. They are done when they turn soft.
The spaghetti should be done by now so drain it. I usually add one tablespoon of butter to the spaghetti at this time for extra flavour.
Take the prawns and mix them with the tomatoes on the pan, scrape the bottom of the pan a bit so that you get the flavours from it.
Pour the spaghetti on to the pan and mix everything together.
I wanted to try steaming the rice rolls I made in this post. You can also see detailed information on how to use rice paper in that post.
It turned out really well and I will be steaming rice rolls in the future too; the texture is somewhat chewy and the filling stays deliciously moist. I was a bit worried that they would not hold together while steaming, but they did hold together nicely.
Steamed rice rolls with a thai flavoured prawn filling
Makes approximately 8 rice paper rolls
-rice paper
-1 cup shelled, cooked and minced prawns
- 2 egg whites
-1 minced spring onion
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp thai seven spice
- 2 minced kaffir lime leaves
Separate the egg whites and whip them until they are white and foamy. Mince the spring onion and kaffir lime leaves.
Mix everything together and start rolling the rice rolls. You can see how they are rolled from here.
Line the bottom of a bamboo steamer with some baking paper.
Steam the rice rolls for approximately 10 minutes.
Serve these with some sweet chilli sauce for example.
On a side note I will be leaving for a summer holiday which will last until the end of August; posting will continue when I get back.
My sister kindly promised to moderate any comments since I will not have access to a computer most of my holiday. For this reason I will also not be able to answer e-mails during this time.
I wish everyone a nice and hot (not too hot) August.
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