Herb-crusted Prawns with Warm Mushroom and Potato Salad
Chef Monique Barbeau draws on the bounty of the Pacific Northwest for this appetizer, combining a melange of mushrooms with roasted potato slices to create a salad to pair with prawns crusted with mixed chopped fresh herbs. If you’d like to make this a main course for four persons, cook 20 prawns and place 5 on each serving.
Ingredients
- Prawn Stock
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Onion - 1 small, diced
- Carrot - 1 small, diced
- Celery Stalk - 1/2, diced
- Shells from Prawns - 2-1/2 cups, coarsely chopped and rinsed in cold water
- Dry white wine - 1/4 cup
- Tomato paste - 2 tablespoons
- Water or Fish Stock - 2-1/2 , enough to cover shells
- Bay Leaf - 1
- Fresh Thyme - 2 sprigs
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Warm Mushroom and Potato Salad
- Potatoes - 4, medium, (red bliss, fingerlings, Yukon gold)
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Mushrooms - 4 cups, sliced (oyster, cepes, portobello, shiitake, chanterelles)
- Olive Oil - 1/2 cup
- Shallots - 1/4 cup, minced
- Prawns - 18, (16-20 count size), peeled and deveined; tail shells on
- Egg Whites - 2, lightly frothed with a fork
- Mixed chopped herbs - 1/2 cup (parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme)
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Sherry Vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Prawn Stock - 1 cup (above)
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the stock: In a pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, carrot, and celery until they begin to brown. Add the shells and stir; cook until the shells turn pink. Pour in the wine and stir up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until nearly dry. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract all the flavor. Return the stock to a saucepan and reduce to 1-1/2 cups over medium-high heat.
To prepare the salad: Preheat the oven to 450 F. Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss with the olive oil in an ovenproof saute pan or skillet and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes to finish.
Keep the mushroom types separated as they will cook differently. Saute in separate batches in olive oil over medium-high heat until golden brown. Toss a few shallots into each batch of mushrooms as they cook. Season each batch with salt and pepper. Keep each finished batch warm while sauteing the rest. Once all mushrooms are sauteed, combine with the potatoes.
To prepare the prawns: Lay out the prawns on a large plate. Lightly coat with egg white, then dredge in the herb mixture. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Using your hands, lift by the tails so the herbs stay on and slide the prawns into the pan. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, flip, and cook 1 minute on the other side. Remove from pan, place on a plate, and set aside; keep warm.
Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar. When the vinegar has almost completely evaporated, add the prawn stock. Reduce by half. Finish the sauce by swirling in the butter and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
To serve: Divide the mushroom and potato salad among six large soup plates. Ladle sauce over and around the salad and stand 3 prawns around each plate. Garnish each bowl with a sprig of fresh thyme.
