Elevated Prawns From Smitty’s Oyster House Main Street

Photo by Yasmin Hannah.

Prawns aren’t known for their overwhelming flavour. For the same reason shrimp is dipped in cocktail sauce, prawns are best suited to delivering the bright, bold, and boisterous flavours of delicious sauces. For this week’s recipe, chef Alan Older of Smitty’s Oyster House’s Main Street location in Vancouver brings brawn to your prawns thanks to a spicy, citrusy chili lime sauce. And with only eight ingredients and four easy steps, although this dish’s flavours may be complicated, making it is anything but.

Yield: 1–2 servings (9 prawns)

Ingredients

⅓ cup white wine

1 teaspoon finely diced shallots

1 teaspoon finely diced garlic

1 teaspoon of dried chili flakes

1 tablespoon lime juice

9 fresh or thawed prawns, deveined (size 21–25)

2–3 tablespoons butter

Parmesan

Method

In a medium saucepan, bring wine, shallots, garlic, chili flakes, and lime juice to a boil, stirring occasionally until reduced by one-third.

Add prawns and cook until they change colour and the sauce is almost gone.

Add butter, turn off the heat, and simmer until butter is emulsified and sauce is thick.

Plate and top with grated parmesan.