food crush

 Believe it or not, living on the coast of California doesn't always mean having access to the freshest of local seafood, especially when buying shrimp. It's not rare to find your only options to be foreign and farm raised. (Yikes!) So imagine my surprise when I came across these wild and local beauties at my fav Santa Monica's farmers market! 

I chose to marry them with a garlic confit chimichurri, which by the way, can have endless options. Though my Thai roots were calling, so I included fresh lemon grass and bird's eye chili's (thai peppers) in this quick and tasty recipe. 

Wild prawns with Garlic Confit and "Thai" Chimichurri 


*serves two

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound wild prawns (if yours are frozen, thaw them under cool running water just before use)

1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1/3 cup olive or grape seed oil

2 large lemongrass stalks (pale parts only), chopped coarse

2 bird’s eye chili peppers ( or you can use serrano or jalapeño),  seeds discarded

1 cup fresh cilantro 

1/4 cup fresh oregano

1 shallot, chopped coarse

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup water

extra fresh herbs like cilantro or chives(the micro versions are even better, if you can find them)for garnish

Note: Prawns pictured in the photo are what was available to me at the time and not as big as I prefer; the bigger, the better for this recipe!

PREPARATION:

 1) Place garlic cloves  and oil in a small saucepan, and bring to a gentle simmer over medium low heat. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally until golden and soft, about 15 minutes.

 2) Transfer garlic and oil to a food processor and pulse with the lemongrass, chili’s, cilantro, oregano, shallot, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.

 3) Place 1 cup of water and prawns in a medium pot, and  pour your chimichurri sauce over prawns. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Boil prawns until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes. Taste the sauce, and add more salt -n- pepper if needed. Transfer to a large

  shallow bowl or platter and serve with some crusty 

grilled bread!