Grilled Spencer Gulf King Prawns with Vermecelli Rice Noodles, Asian Herb Salad and Vietnamese Dressing

By Dennis Leslie

• 800gm Spencer Gulf King Prawns
• 1 Carrot Peel, using peeler, peel long, thick strips
• 1 Cucumber Quarter, deseed length ways and slice on angle
• 250gr Bag Bean Sprouts
• 5tblspn Palm Sugar
• ¼ cup Fish Sauce
• ¼ cup Water
• 3 Large Red Chillies
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 500gr packet of Rice Vermicelli Noodles
• 1 Bunch Coriander Pick leaves
• 1 Bunch Mint Pick Leaves
• 1 Bunch Laksa Mint Pick Leaves
• 3 Spring Onion Finely sliced and placed into ice water
• Sea Salt
• White Pepper

Blanch the noodles in boiling hot water for 1 minute, take off the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Strain with running cold water to cool it down rapidly. Set aside until needed.

For the dressing, place the palm sugar in a pot with the water and slowly bring up the heat, just to dissolve the sugar and set aside to cool down.

Pound the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle to a fine paste.

Add the chilli/garlic paste to the palm sugar solution.

Add the fish sauce to the dressing to taste. You may need a little more fish sauce or sugar depending on the balance.

For the Spencer Gulf King Prawns, heat up a large heavy bottom pan. Add oil.

Season the Spencer Gulf King Prawns with salt and pepper and seal the Spencer Gulf King Prawns on one side for 1 minute then turn to the other side and cook for a further one minute. Leave slightly undercooked.

Mix the Spencer Gulf King Prawns with the cooked noodles and use half the dressing to moisten the noodles.

Mix the carrot, cucumber, bean sprouts to the noodles along with the rest of the dressing.

Place the salad into a bowl and garnish with the mixed herbs and the spring onions which would have curled up from sitting in the ice.

Spencer Gulf King Prawn and Mushroom Risotto (winter)

By Dennis Leslie

• 1Kg Spencer Gulf King Prawns
• 1 Bunch Leeks, washed and finely sliced
• 2 Brown Onions, peeled and finely diced
• 200gms Button Mushrooms, finely Sliced
• 200gms Butter
• 2 Litres of chicken stock
• 1 Cup Cream
• ½ Bunch Tarragon
• 1 Cup White Wine
• 1 ½ Cups Arborio Rice

Heat up large pot on medium high heat and add the butter to melt.

Once the butter is melted, add the onions and leeks and sauté for 10 minutes or until the onions are nicely “creamed” and translucent, continually stirring.

Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add the rice and cook until the rice is translucent.

Deglaze with white wine and cook until evaporated.

Add the chicken stock a little at a time, allow it to cook into the rice before adding the next bit of stock, and continue this process until the rice is cooked through. Check for doneness by biting into a kernel.

Once the rice is cooked, add the prawns and cook until they are cooked through.

Add the cream and take off the heat. Stir cream through.

Finish with chopped tarragon.

Spencer Gulf King Prawns Salad with Fresh Peas, Grilled Asparagus, Blood Orange, Balsamic Onions and Rocket, Almond Dressing (summer)

By Dennis Leslie

• 800gm Spencer Gulf King Prawns
• 1 Bunch Asparagus
• 400gm Fresh Peas
• 6 BloodOranges
• 3 Red Onions
• 100ml Balsamic
• 200gm Fresh Rocket Leaf
• 6 tblspn Harding’s Almond Paste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Peel the red onions and cut into wedges. Toss in equal quantities of balsamic and olive oil. Season in salt and pepper and roast for 10 minutes, stirring at 5 minute mark. Set aside to cool in the juices.

For the asparagus, bend one asparagus spear until it snaps. This will tell you where to cut the rest of the bunch, discard the woody end and toss the spears in olive oil salt and pepper.

Grill the asparagus until it starts to blacken slightly, then set aside.

Take the fresh peas out of the pods and blanch in hot water for 30 seconds then refresh in cold running water, set aside.

Make a dressing with the almond paste and about ¼ cup of olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until emulsified.

Toss the prawns in olive oil, salt and pepper and grill for 1 minute on each side and place into a mixing bowl.