prawns Archives • Ant & Anise

So, Day 27 in the Paleo Diet Challenge. I’ve mentioned before that I like getting a CSA box because it pushes me outside of my kitchen comfort zone, a little. Take garlic scapes. Not something you see at a big box supermarket, or even your local green grocer. Last year garlic scapes definitely had me stumped. I think we ended up chopping into a stir fry. Ho hum.

This year, when I we got the garlic scapes in late June, I thought I’d aim for something more creative, at least a little. Turns out that garlic scapes make a fine pesto, and I made one based on a recipe from Dorie Greenspan.

But when I tasted the pesto, I was a little taken aback. Garlic scapes are supposed to be milder tasting than the bulbs. What I had created was really strong, with a pungent garlicky smell and taste that made me think great, first I didn’t know what to do with the scapes…and now I don’t know what to do with this pesto. I parked it in the fridge and forgot about it. (Well, mostly. It still glanced at it practically every time I opened the fridge.)

I was feeling a little lazy today, and it was getting too late to make anything elaborate. When I looked in the fridge and saw the garlic scape pesto starting at me, again, I thought okay, here we go. It’s just me for dinner, so who would mind if I have a serious case of after-dinner garlic breath, except maybe the cat?

With some prawns, a tomato, and a few zucchini ribbons standing in for pasta, the pesto made a very quick, Paleo-friendly meal. The best part, and the biggest surprise, was how the pesto had mellowed. Really. It had toned down considerably from when I first made it, and now was pleasant and very, very mild.

And it didn’t give me bad garlic breath either. (I knew you’d be wondering.)

Prawns & Garlic Scape Pesto with Zucchini

Serving Size: 1

This recipe can be easily doubled. If you need to scale it up even further, I'd suggest sauteeing the prawns in their own pan so they don't have to compete for space with the zucchini ribbons.

Ingredients

2 small zucchini, peeled lengthwise (about 5 oz of ribbons)
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scape pesto
6-8 prawns, shelled
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Using a vegetable peeler, make the zucchini ribbons: Peel the zucchini lengthwise, down one side until you get to the center and then down the other.
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it has cooked down and released some juices.
Add the zucchini ribbons and saute for 1 minute until they soften slightly.
Add 1/4 cup of the garlic scape pesto and stir it in so it evenly coats the zucchini ribbons. Continue cooking for another few minutes until the zucchini has released some juices, but is slightly firmer than 'al dente'.
Push the zucchini ribbons and tomato to one side of the saute pan, and add the prawns. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the prawns are firm and pink. Add another few tablespoons of pesto if you like, and stir in to coat the prawns and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

Garlic scape image from The Coast, via Google Images.

All right, my weight basically stays the same all the time, within a 3 pound range. This morning when I stepped on the scale and saw my weight lower than it’s been in years, I almost fell backward into the bathtub. Surprise! Almost 2 pounds gone in 2 days. What’s with that? And I’m not feeling hungry in the least between meals. Strange.

What to do about breakfast this morning? While I enjoy eggs I don’t eat them very often, as in once every couple of weeks. Yesterday’s triumphant Mediterranean egg breakfast aside, I didn’t feel like facing eggs two mornings in a row. I decided on a big bowl of fruit — a couple of kiwis, a banana, a few apricots and some strawberries. Simple and more or less satisfying. Strict Paleos would be scolding me for not having protein but meh, I’m a newbie at all this.

The big hit today was dinner. I made some cauliflower “rice” for the first time. Admittedly my expectations weren’t terribly high, as I find cauliflower and (white) rice to be pretty uninteresting on their own. But, turns out my weight drop wasn’t the only surprise of the day. Cauliflower masquerading as rice may fool you into thinking it’s a real grain.

Atop the rice, er, cauliflower, was a saute I make when local spot prawns make a brief appearance every year. We typically have this over pasta and I could probably eat it for, I don’t know, every day for two weeks never be tired of it. First, it’s easy and quick to put together, perfect for when you come home after a long day and want to eat something right now. Also, it doesn’t require much precision in measuring out ingredients, which makes me feel very Jamie Oliver-ish. For Bob, I add heavy cream to make it a more of a rose sauce but I like it just as well without any cream at all.

The double tomato spot prawn saute (sans cream, since I was cooking for one) had a depth of flavor, almost a beefiness, that was particularly satisfying. It kind of feels like my taste buds are on high alert. So far so good even though it’s only day 3.

Double Tomato Sautéed Spot Prawns

Serving Size: 1

Serve this on top of cauliflower 'rice' for a delightful summer meal. This recipe can be easily doubled (to serve 2) with no adjustments. If scaling the recipe further upwards (to serve 4 or more), keep to 3 garlic cloves.

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
2 tablespoon oil from jar of sundried tomatoes (plain olive oil would do just fine too)
4-6 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup chicken stock
splash of white wine (optional)
6-8 spot prawns, shelled
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
cauliflower rice, for serving

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic and (if using) dried pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes until the garlic is softened up, reducing the heat further if needed to ensure it doesn’t turn brown.
Add the sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, then the chicken stock and (if using) white wine. Bring the sauce to a boil an reduce it for 6-8 minutes, until it reaches a thicker consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
A couple minutes before you’re ready for serving, stir in the spot prawns. They only take 1-2 minutes to be done, so keep an eye on them. Once the spot prawns have turned white and are firm, turn off the heat, stir in the parsley and you’re ready to go. Serve on top of cauliflower rice.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 27

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 3