Poached Prawn Salad
Feeds 3-4
Today we were forecast thunderstorms but woke up to the brightest, sunniest, warmest day after having a few brisk ones. To top it off, I got two double yolks from my soft-boiled eggs so... all I need is a rabbits foot and a four leaf clover and I am winning a million bucks for sure. A little life update for anyone who's listening (hi Mum!); I've still been travelling around New Zealand but I've decided to stay and live and work here for the next year. I want to give it a chance because the country makes me a lot happier and calmer than dreary old England. Not to say I don't intensely miss London, but the grind of the big smoke can really beat you down - you don't realise that it's not normal to get sick so often or that commuting on a hot, polluted train, squashed into peoples' armpits for an hour is realllly dumb. Anyway, I'm going to enjoy a different world for a little while and that world will continue to include delicious food - like this prawn salad!
PRO TIPS
Add a little bit of fresh tarragon to your pickled shallots (thanks for the tip Alison Roman).
If you want to make this recipe vege, it's super easy to swap out the prawns with some baby potatoes or whatever you like to make the star of your salads!
When poaching prawns, people often say you need to plunge them in an ice bath after cooking them to stop the cooking process... that sounds like another dish and extra work to me and therefore I will cut corners and not do that. Just place the prawns spread out on a tray with all your other salad elements.
Any lettuce/salad green you like to eat will do - I like a crisp and crunchy one like romaine or baby cos.
I like to boil my eggs, prawns, and green beans all in the same pot to minimise dish-doing afterwards - and I highly recommend cooking things in that order.
Recipe
Ingredients
Salad
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
3 tablespoons of lemon juice (1 medium-sized lemon)
400g of uncooked prawns, peeled & deveined
3 eggs
250g of green beans (both ends cut off)
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1 large avocado, thinly sliced
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 cups of salad greens (I used romaine lettuce chopped)
Dressing
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of capers, drained (plus more for serving)
1 teaspoon of honey
3 tablespoons of lemon juice (1 medium-sized lemon)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
In a small bowl, mix together your salt, shallots, and lemon juice. Set this aside.
Boil a deep pot of water until the water reaches a rolling boil. Turn the heat down super low and place your eggs into the pot and cover with a lid. Leave for 6-7 minutes for a jammy soft-boiled egg. Remove the eggs and set aside for later. - Once you are ready to assemble the salad, peel and halve the eggs.
Turn the heat up until the water reaches a boil again and generously salt the water. Put your prawns in the water and gently move them around. Once they are cooked (about 3-4 minutes) remove them. The prawns are done once they are a white/opaque colour all the way through. Don't bother draining the water, just remove the prawns and place them on a plate or sheet pan spread apart so that they can cool down. Set aside.
In the same pot, cook your green beans until just cooked and vibrant green. Set aside to cool.
In a large salad bowl, place your salad greens at the bottom. Layer on top of the greens your - cherry tomatoes, radishes, green beans, prawns, eggs, avocado, and pickled shallots (and pour the lemon juice/liquid over the salad).
In a blender or processor, blitz up all the dressing ingredients and pour it over the top of the salad alongside some extra capers.
Season with salt & pepper, serve, and enjoy!!
Stay Salty,
Romy xx