Hot and smoky tomato prawns with sticky coconut rice

Prawns are forever a decadent supper in my mind due to the much-loved prawn cocktail enjoyed on rare trips out to restaurants as a child. Prawns smothered in Marie Rose sauce and served up on crunchy cold iceberg lettuce still have a place in my heart, but this is what I crave after a long day.

INGREDIENTS

150g white basmati rice

8 tomatoes, cut in half

1 tablespoon groundnut oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

20g creamed coconut, grated

190g raw peeled prawns

1 red chilli, sliced

a handful fresh coriander, (optional)

METHOD

Soak the rice in a measuring jug of cold water. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150°C and put the tomatoes in a roasting tin and sprinkle with oil and paprika. Cook on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes until well roasted.

Now it’s action stations. Drain the rice in a sieve and rinse it in cold water, to get rid of the excess starch that can make your rice stodgy, until the water runs clear. Return the rice to the measuring jug and make a note of the volume in millilitres. Tip into a saucepan and add double the amount of cold water to rice. Stir in the salt and coconut. Bring to the boil without a lid then reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Don’t peek – the lid needs to stay on throughout. I set a timer for this, as rice is precise stuff.

Meanwhile, add the prawns and chilli to the tomato mixture, shake a little and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Once the rice timer goes, remove the rice pan from the heat and leave with the lid on for 5 minutes. Once cooked, fluff the rice up with a fork and serve it with the hot prawns poured over the top. Snip over some coriander if you have some.

IDEAS FOR CREAMED COCONUT

Put half a block of coconut cream, a tin of tomatoes, a tin of cold water, 2 tins of chickpeas and a tablespoon each of turmeric, garam masala, ground cumin and ground coriander into a pan and simmer for 10 minutes, then add a crushed garlic clove for a quick veggie curry. Or add 75 g grated creamed coconut to a basic sponge for a tropical change and couple with fresh mango and desiccated coconut spiked cream for a showstopper.

#normalmum #prawns #rice #tomato #coconut #chili