Description
A vibrant and flavorful dish featuring succulent tiger prawns served with a smoky and nutty Romesco sauce made from grilled red peppers, tomatoes, nuts, and aromatic spices. Perfect as an appetizer or light main course.
Ingredients
Scale
Romesco Sauce
- 1 red pepper (preferably the long, thin-skinned Romano variety)
- 3 fat garlic cloves
- 1 fat, fresh red chilli
- 1 large ripe tomato
- 10 shelled hazelnuts
- 10 blanched almonds
- 3 sprigs parsley
- small slice day-old bread
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt, to taste
Prawns
- 400g pack large, cooked, peeled tiger prawns, defrosted if frozen
Instructions
- Prepare and Grill Vegetables: Halve the red pepper lengthways and remove the seeds and stalk. Line a grill pan with foil and place the pepper halves, skin side up, along with the whole garlic cloves, chilli, and tomato on the grill pan. Grill for 2 minutes, then turn the tomato over and grill for another 2 minutes. Remove the tomato using a large spoon, peel it, quarter it, remove the seeds, and chop roughly.
- Continue Grilling Pepper, Chilli, and Garlic: Grill the pepper, chilli, and garlic for an additional 4-5 minutes until the skins of the pepper and chilli blacken and the garlic starts to soften (the garlic skin will begin to split). Allow to cool enough to handle, then peel and halve the chilli, removing and discarding the seeds. Peel the pepper and roughly chop both the pepper and chilli.
- Toast Nuts: Spread the hazelnuts and almonds over the foil on the grill pan and toast until fragrant and lightly browned. Finely chop the toasted nuts and parsley together in a food processor, then transfer to a small bowl.
- Cook Pepper Mixture and Bread: Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped pepper, garlic, and chilli and fry for 3 minutes. Tear up the slice of day-old bread and add to the pan, turning it in the oil until it is lightly browned.
- Make Romesco Sauce: Combine the fried pepper mixture, browned bread, chopped tomatoes, salt, red wine vinegar, and the remaining olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped to maintain some texture. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, allow it to cool, and refrigerate for up to 3 days if needed.
- Combine Nuts and Parsley: On the day of serving, stir the chopped toasted nuts and parsley into the Romesco sauce until well incorporated.
- Serve: Present the Romesco sauce in a small bowl on a plate alongside the peeled tiger prawns. Provide cocktail sticks for guests to spear the prawns and enjoy with the sauce.
Notes
- Use a grill pan or outdoor grill to get the smoky flavor essential to the Romesco sauce.
- The Romesco sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to three days.
- The dish works well as an appetizer or light main and pairs beautifully with crusty bread or a fresh salad.
- Adjust the amount of chilli used according to your preferred spice level.
- Ensure prawns are fully cooked if using raw, but this recipe uses pre-cooked prawns for ease and quick assembly.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Spanish
Keywords: Romesco sauce, tiger prawns, grilled peppers, seafood appetizer, Spanish recipe, nut sauce, easy seafood dish
