Spotted Prawns

I love, love, love local spotted prawns. The season is very short, between 6 and 8 weeks. I drove down to the dock in Cowichan Bay today and picked up 10 pounds of prawns right off the boat. Half for us and the other half for our neighbour Clif. I took a big pail with me. Good thing it was deep because the little darlings were still a live and jumping all over the place.

Once I got them home I removed their heads and then froze some and the rest I cooked for dinner. TIP: The best way to freeze fresh shrimp or prawns is in water. Lightly salted.

For dinner we had Garlic Prawns - a Spanish Tapa. This is a favourite recipe that I have been making for over 25 years. Good thing I baked bread today. We used it to sop up all the wonderful sauce.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Spanish Tapa - Garlic Shrimp
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6 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons of chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt
2 Tablespoons minced parsley

Italian or French Bread cut into cubes

Heat the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a large, shallow pan. When the garlic just begins to turn golden, add the shrimp and cook over high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the broth and lemon juice.

If serving in the living room, pour into a large earthenware bowl and sprinkle with salt and parsley. Serve immediately.

Note: Use more chicken broth and lemon juice if you like lots of sauce to dip the bread into.