Prawn recipes from Karen Martini

Whether it's making stock with bones, using parmesan rind to enrich minestrone or just reworking leftovers, making use of ingredients many people throw away is part of being a good cook.

Prawn wontons with Sichuan salt and prawn essence

The luxurious prawn essence used for this dish (recipe below) really has the humblest of beginnings. Once the essence is made, these wontons are simple to put together and full of sophisticated flavours.

Sichuan salt

2 tsp Sichuan pepper, whole (available at specialist stores and Asian grocers)

4 tsp salt flakes

Wontons

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp light soy

1/2 tsp sesame oil

5cm piece ginger, finely grated

3 spring onions, white only, finely sliced

8 king prawns, peeled and sliced into 1.5cm pieces (about 250g flesh)

1 packet square wonton wrappers

To serve

1/2 tsp chilli powder

4 spring onions, white only, finely sliced

1 1/2 tbsp prawn essence (see recipe)

1. To make the Sichuan salt, warm the salt and Sichuan pepper in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind to a powder.

2. To make the wonton filling, combine the sugar, soy, sesame oil, ginger and spring onion and toss through the prawns.

3. Lay out two to four wrappers at a time. Wet two adjacent edges of each wrapper with water and place two pieces of prawn in the middle of each. Fold the other two edges over to form a triangle, press edges to seal. Repeat until the filling is finished.

4. Cook the wontons (in batches) in simmering water for about 2 1/2 minutes for each batch - the edges will become a little translucent. Drain and serve on a hot serving plate. Sprinkle over some Sichuan salt, chilli powder and spring onions and drizzle with prawn essence.

Tip: Marinate the prawns when you're ready to make the wontons.

Drink: Pilsner

Makes 22 wontons

Fennel and orzo risotto with garlic prawns

This is a risotto-like dish that works on the classic combination of seafood and anise. The orzo, a pasta, has a lovely slippery texture and it's a lot less technical than looking after rice.

100ml extra virgin olive oil

6 medium kumato tomatoes, cut in half, or 1 punnet cherry tomatoes

10 large green prawn cutlets

1 tsp ground fennel

Salt flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 bulb fennel, cut into 1/2 cm dice, reserve the fronds to garnish

350g orzo, as sold as risoni (available at the supermarket)

2 tbsp pastis (anise-flavoured liqueur, substitute a splash of white wine)

1 litre quality chicken stock

Prawn essence, to serve (see recipe)

1 lemon

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, add the oil and fry the tomatoes for two to three minutes to loosen a little, remove. Put the prawns and ground fennel in the saucepan, season and fry for two minutes. Remove and set aside with the tomatoes.

2. Add the garlic and fennel dice, season and cook on a medium heat until lightly coloured and softened, about seven minutes. Add the orzo, pastis or wine and stock and slowly simmer for about eight minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the prawns and tomatoes and cook for another three minutes, stirring. Turn the heat off, cover and let stand for a further three minutes.

4. Drizzle over the prawn essence to taste, scatter over the fennel fronds, squeeze over some lemon and serve from the pot.

Drink: Oaked semillon sauvignon blanc blend.

Serves 4

Prawn essence

This prawn oil is such a handy flavour boost to have on hand to drizzle over seafood pasta, risotto or soup. Mix with fresh chilli for fiery oil or add to dressings or emulsions to add savoury depth and complexity.

20 fresh king prawn heads

200ml extra virgin olive oil

700ml grape seed oil

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced or 180C conventional.

2. Spread the prawn heads on a baking tray and roast for 40 minutes - they should be cooked and quite dry. Crush the heads lightly to release any moisture, then roast for about 15 minutes more, being careful not to burn them.

3. Tip the heads into a food processor and blitz for one minute.

4. Tip the blitzed shells into a small pot with the oils and stir. Cook on a very low heat, 55-65C, and maintain in this range if you can for 45 minutes - this might be difficult on some stoves, but if you watch it and take the pan off the heat now and then to cool down, you will still get a good result. You need a thermometer for this; it shouldn't bubble or fry.

5. Once infused, strain the oil through a fine sieve lined with muslin - most of the oil will strain through quickly, but leave it to sit and drain slowly (without forcing it) to get all the essence. Cool and store in the fridge for up to a month.

Makes About 800ml