Sunday Lunch - tropical prawn salad + coconut panna cotta

Inspired by our recent trip to Port Douglas and Palm Cove and with the rest of summer still to enjoy you just don't feel like eating anything heavy.  Fresh and light is the order of the day.  Keep it simple and fragrant using all available salad vegetables and herbs from the kitchen garden.

Holidays for me are about discovering the local produce of the area.  On this occasion we came across some lovely reef prawns which I thought would be perfect for a quick sunday lunch.  This is the recipe I'm sharing with you today.

Tropical Prawn Salad

1 kg of prawns uncooked, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 inch knob ginger finely chopped
2 long red chillies deseeded finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander stems chopped finely
2 cloves garlic sliced finely
Pinch sea salt
Juice of 2 limes

Place coconut oil in a heavy based pan on a medium to low heat, add the ginger, chilli, coriander stems and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes continually stirring.  Turn the heat to high, and then add the prawns, stir frying them for a further 2 minutes or until they begin to turn pink.  Pour in the juice of 2 limes stir for another 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and season to taste.  Arrange on a platter ready to serve.
 

Salad

2 baby cos lettuce washed and separated
1 whitlof washed and separated
2 avocados sliced
¼ bunch coriander leaves
¼ bunch thai basil leaves
thai basil flowers to garnish

Arrange on a large platter the baby cos, whitlof, avocados, coriander and thai basil. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with thai basil flowers and coriander leaves.  Serve immediately.

vinaigrette

150 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
Pinch sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until combined.  Pour into a jug and keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Coconut Panna Cotta

600 ml coconut cream
Zest and juice of 2 limes or 1 kaffir lime leaf
2 sheets gelatine

Place the coconut cream, the lime zest or the kaffir lime leaf in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer.  Remove from the heat and let the lime infuse.  Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water for about 3-4 minutes or until soft.  Then squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add to the saucepan of hot cream.  Place the saucepan back on the heat and whisk gently until the gelatine is completely dissolved, do not boil.

Pour the mixture through a sieve into a heat proof jug to remove the lime zest or leaf, allow to cool slightly.  Pour into little glasses for serving and place in the refrigerator overnight to set.

To serve, remove from the refrigerator and sprinkle with some lime zest.