Del-icious!: Spot prawn feast

OK, so now I get it. Two years ago, Neil and myself eagerly bought a bag of spot prawns fresh from the ocean, took them home and then left them as the fisherman had described, which unbeknown to us had unwillingly killed them. (Read about it here). They have to die anyway, so what's the problem right? Well, apparently once dead they begin to leach a toxin into their flesh so keeping them alive is a priority. Neil and I were somewhat less than impressed with them back then. We killed them too soon, (toxic), overcooked them, (mushy) and smothered them in a creamy pasta sauce, (silly). This year, with Juenessa's help, we did it right, (almost)...

Spot prawns are a very sustainable choice for Pacific North West dwellers. Only available for 80 days from May, they are sweet and sold fresh from the very boats that have caught them, usually only a couple of hours earlier, straight from the Pacific. Demand can be very high at first, (as the 3 hour line up on the first day attested to) and they are not cheap, (Juenessa paid $45 for what you see in these photos), but once a year, they are worth it and many restaurants feature them highly for their short season.

But, keeping them alive until you cook them is important, for reasons mentioned above. This may seem simple but it provides all sort of challenges. The Internet is full of cruel and gut wrenching videos of chefs dismembering and baking them while alive, so as to take no chances, (claiming they have no central nervous system as justification), as killing them is just so easy. Placing them in tap water can kill them. Covering them with a cloth can kill them, (suffocation and drowning) and once again it seemed ours had already met their maker at cooking time. They had been in the fridge for several hours and although we all watched with steely determination, almost psychically willing them to jump, they were still and lifeless. We cooked them anyway and they were sublime.

So, what we did.

Recipe: Boiled spot prawns with green onions

Enough for 4 - the prawns are very rich in flavour, sweet and ocean like

3 lbs of spot prawns

4 green onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

juice of 1 large juicy lemon

4 tbsp butter, melted

Bring a very large pot of water to the boil over medium heat and salt it well.

Once the water is a at a rolling boil, add your prawns, cover and cook for no more than 2 minutes. This is important as any longer will start to either toughen or unpleasantly soften them. We used a timer just to be sure and even though I was convinced they weren't cooked, Juenessa insisted they were and she was right.

Remove from the pan and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the garlic and green onions, squeeze over the lemon juice and allow to cool before peeling and enjoying, dipping each one into some melted butter. You don't need any sauce or other ingredients, just enjoy as naturally as possible.

To make this evening a true local, North Western affair, we enjoyed the prawns with another speciality for the time of year: fiddleheads. The prized curl of an immature fern plant, they are again only available for a short time and somewhat expensive and, like the prawns, can also be toxic if not cooked correctly making our dinner a Russian roulette that evening. The taste is similar to asparagus, with an almost grassy flavour and tender texture.

Recipe: Fiddleheads with shallot, garlic and butter

1 pack of fiddleheads

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

a little salt and pepper

First, you must boil the fiddleheads for about 15 minutes in boiling water over medium heat.

Then remove, drain and set aside. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium to high heat and add the shallot and garlic. Fry quickly, stirring continuously to prevent burning until softened, about 30 seconds.

Add the fiddleheads and continue frying and stirring over reduced low - medium heat for about 7 minutes until fragrant and slightly golden at the edges. Serve straight away with some seasoning.