Old Bay Prawns/Shrimp in Wine
with a
Spicy Creamy Dip
A light and luscious meal of Old Bay poached prawns/shrimp, just perfect for an elegant “ladies who lunch” party or a balmy summer evening on the terrace.
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| Old Bay Shrimps/Prawns in Wine with Spicy Mayonnaise Dip |
Friday 19th July 2011
Vendredi 19 Juillet 2011 ~ Ste Marthe
At last, the weather is improving ~ it has been a funny old July…….it started of with a bang and the weather was amazing, sparkling hot and clear with wonderful cool breezes in the late afternoon and early evening, but from the 14th onward, it has been so unpredictable with rain almost daily and high winds, which has played havoc with my apple, pear and quince trees. So, when I stumbled down the stairs this morning, I was delighted to see the sun shining and enough blue in the sky to make a pair of sailor’s trousers/pants! Great I thought, I will do something with those delicious king prawns I have in the fridge and we will eat al fresco today.
A kind friend of mine sent me some Old Bay seasoning from the USA, she knows I LOVE the stuff ~ it is amazing in all things seafood, especially crab cakes, but it also makes an amazing broth for poaching prawns/shrimp. Now the usual ingredient for this shrimp dish is beer, but I didn’t have any light beer in the house and I wanted to experiment with some nice white wine I opened last night ~ amazingly I still had over half a bottle left.
I have made this recipe before with wine, so I know it works like a dream with the Old Bay seasoning and the juicy prawns/shrimp. I also like to serve these prawns/shrimp with a home-made spicy dip ~ simple but very effective with all kinds of seafood. All that is needed to complete this light and summery meal is a nice green salad and some crusty bread, to wipe around the plate.
I also threw in some surimi that I had lurking in the back of the fridge, I added it the the prawns/shrimp on the plate; a very nice crab surimi with a very high crabmeat content…….I love surimi sticks as a tasty little appetiser with my glass of wine in the evening, and they are low-fat and low cal too! I DID manage to serve this for lunch today outside on the terrace, with a huge mixed salad and half a baguette…..absolutely sublime and VERY tactile eating too……I do love a good messy seafood meal! Here is the recipe, you can use beer if you want instead of wine, but I find the wine poaching liquor is a little lighter and more suitable for a hot summery day.
Old Bay Prawns/Shrimp in Wine
with a
Spicy Creamy Dip
A light and luscious meal of Old Bay poached prawns/shrimp, just perfect for an elegant “ladies who lunch” party or a balmy summer evening on the terrace……I used king prawns for this recipe and also used a high quality ready-made mayonnaise for the dip, for ease and speed.
(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients:
1 kilo (2.2 lbs) king prawns/shrimp, raw and unpeeled
2 glasses of dry white wine, I used Chardonnay
1 small shallot or onion, peeled and diced finely
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced finely
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 lemon, cut in half
water
Dip:
6 tablespoons high quality ready-made mayonnaise,
OR homemade mayonnaise
several dashes of tabasco, or any other hot chilli sauce ~ to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablesoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon of garlic granules,
OR 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Put the prawns/shrimp into a large pan and add the wine, lemon halves, onion or shallot and garlic. Add the water to just cover the prawns/shrimp, and then add the Old Bay seasoning. Stir well.
2. Cook over a high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the prawns are pink and cooked. Strain the prawns/shrimp (keeping the cooking liquor for a soup or fish sauce ~ I often freeze it until I need it.) and place them into a large bowl.
3. Allow lots of paper napkins and a spare bowl for the prawn/shrimp peelings and eat immediately with a mixed salad, crusty bread and the spicy dip.
4. To make the dip, just whiz or mix all the ingredients together and taste before adjusting the seasoning ~ we like it very spicy. Serve in a separate bowl or in individual dishes with the prawns/shrimp.
Enjoy and I hope your day is as sunny as mine!
Karen
Maya Russell says
Shared this summer recipe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maisietoo/status/332385732809347075