Moorish prawn and mint salad
“Escape the heat with this cooling dish”
For the salad
- 500g green prawns, shelled
- zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra
- 1 tsp smoky paprika
- 1 tsp harissa
- 1 tsp sumac
- pinch of allspice salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 red onions
- 1 baby fennel bulb
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 radicchio
- 2 witlof
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves
- 100g Ligurian black olives
- 6-8 mint leaves shredded
- 100g fetta
- olive oil for cooking
For the dressing
- extra virgin olive oil, or lemon-infused olive oil
- sherry vinegar
On days where the mercury rises to bursting point, it's time to simplify meals. Salads are an obvious choice, from sliceand- assemble favourites such as torn buffalo mozzarella with gardenplucked tomato and shredded basil to leftover roast chicken on iceberg with scattered bean shoots and peanuts, or the cupboard faithful - tinned chickpeas with tuna, lettuce and whatever else is in the fridge.
Method
Place prawns in a bowl. Mix together 4 tbsp olive oil, paprika, harissa, sumac, allspice, salt and pepper.
Refrigerate until needed.
Preheat oven to 180C. Peel onions and cut into wedges. Remove stalks from fennel, cut in half, remove core and slice thinly. Toss together with 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and roast for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
Wash radicchio and witlof and break into bite-size pieces. Mix with the parsley, olives and mint. Place in a serving bowl.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add splash of oil and prawns and cook for 1 to 2 minutes each side until they change colour. (Cook prawns in two batches if need be.) Dress salad with the oil and vinegar.
Arrange prawns on top and crumble the fetta over. Serve
immediately.
Serves 4 to 6
