Mãe’s prawns
Ingredients
100 ml olive oil
4 tbsps lemon juice
2 tbsps coarse salt
10 ml ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tsps coriander
2 tsps paprika
6 cloves garlic, crushed
piri-piri sauce to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 kg large prawns, deveined, heads and tails on
150 ml butter
2 x 330 ml cans beer
fresh chillies, to garnish
lemon wedges, to serve
fresh coriander, to garnish
If there was one recipe I’d consider my go-to recipe, this is it! It is also the one dish that, no matter how hard I try, I can’t do quite as well as my wonderful mother does. The trick here is to deglaze the pan with beer and create the most delicious sauce you will taste in your life.
Cooking Instructions
- Mix half the olive oil, the lemon juice, salt, pepper, bay leaves, coriander, paprika, garlic, piri-piri and cumin in a mixing bowl and add the prawns. Marinate the prawns for 10 minutes.
- Heat the remainder of the oil and half of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and then add the marinated prawns.
- Fry the prawns on both sides until the skins turn pink and lift easily from the meat – usually about
5 minutes. - Remove prawns from the pan, cover to keep warm and set aside.
- Pour the beer into the pan and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the bits and pieces. Simmer for
2–3 minutes until the smell of the alcohol starts
to disappear. - Pour the marinade into the pan and simmer for another 5–8 minutes until it starts to thicken, then add the remaining butter to the marinade sauce and stir until melted (the butter gives it a great richness and gloss). Remove the sauce from heat.
- Serve the prawns with slices of fresh chilli, lemon wedges and some fresh coriander, as well as
the sauce.
About the Author
Portugal born Joao Da Fonseca, a.k.a. J’Something, is known to millions of fans for his award winning hits as the lead singer and song writer of South African band Mi Casa.
J’Something has won multiple awards with Mi Casa, including 8 number 1 singles and 5 SAMA awards. They have hosted countless sold out shows in 31 African countries as well as in Portugal, UK, Netherlands, Italy, and Canada. In 2014 his passion for food and drink came to the fore culminating in two shows; Something’s Food & Drink and What’s for Dinner that reached over 18 000 000 viewers across South Africa in two years.
Currently together with David Higgs he hosts and judges the smash-hit My Kitchen Rules South Africa on MNet prime time. When not performing, J’Something can be found at Something’s Cooking by J, his first restaurant. The future is looking sweet for this humble, passionate, talented and creative mastermind.
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