Creamy Garlic Prawns

Hello there Readers, Hopefully this post is a bit more coherent than last weeks one, I am recovering nicely from the concussion, but I'm stiff and sore and still a bit sorry for myself, so I'm cooking myself a rich, yummy, decadent meal to cheer me up and end my pity party! Would you care to join me?

One of my clients is allergic to garlic, suffering anaphalatic issues when she accidentally eats some. I think this would be an ingredient even harder to avoid than lactose or gluten, as it doesn't need to be listed as a specific ingredient, just lumped under herbs or spices.

Just imagine missing out on the pungency,the punch, the sweetness, the earthiness, that garlic can bring to a dish. It weaves it way through a dish, and is in every cuisine from Chinese, to Italian, to South American, Indian, and just about everywhere else in between.

Were you aware that the way you cut your garlic dictates the strength of flavour it releases? The finer you go, the more damage to the cell walls, and the stronger the taste- try leaving a clove whole, slicing one roughly, slice one fine, then mincing one. If I want the flavour to spread through a whole dish I'll usually use my microplane to process it, and the garlic itself will almost disappear into the meal. Sometimes I want the nuttiness of the cloves so I'll slice it roughly, and when I want the mellow sweetness I'll roast the bulbs whole, or confit the peeled cloves slowly in oil. The possibilities are endless, and delicious!

This recipe really makes garlic the star of the show. The lovely prawns with their firm sweetness aren't overpowered by the sauce, just beautifully complimented by it. The cream mellows and extends the flavours while adding richness and a fuller mouthfeel, and the rice is perfect for soaking up the extra yumminess. The parsley might seem rather insignificant, just adding some spots of flavor, but trust me, they are key to the finished product. The sharp iron bite seems to snap your palate and stop it being slowly lulled into a dreamy, creamy, comatose state. A nice dry white wine to sip while eating helps as well.

A word of warning before you start: for continued connubial bliss, make sure your beloved consumes at least a bite or two of this as well. No matter how much you love garlic, there is nothing worse than someone wafting garlic bed breath over your shoulder all night.

Ingredients:

1 kg prawns
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup lactose free cream
knob of butter and splash of oil
garlic, lots of garlic
1 bunch parsley, I prefer the flat leaved variety
salt to taste
rice to serve

Place the butter and oil in a pan and add the garlic. Cook it off gently, don't let it burn or it will become bitter.

Add the prawns and toss to coat in the garlicky goodness, and cook until they have started to change colour and firm up a little. Pull them out before they are fully cooked, so they don't get mushy when put back into the hot sauce.

Once the pan is hot again, pour in the wine and cream and reduce by at least a third until the sauce is nicely thickened up.

Put the prawns in the hot sauce and let them finish cooking while they heat through.

Once the prawns are off the heat stir through the parsley.

Serve immediately with steamed white rice and maybe some crusty gluten free bread for mopping up the leftover sauce.


So Readers, are you a fan of garlic, and what are your tips for getting rid of garlic breath?