Yucatan grilled king prawns with avocado salsa

Name: Yucatan grilled king prawns with avocado salsa
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1kg whole king prawns

Neil Perry

December 1, 2015

Jalapenos add zing to the avocado salsa accompanying the prawns.William Meppem

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4

Make your next barbecue mouth-watering with this Mexican-style prawn-and-salsa dish. For a more filling meal, serve the prawns with some warm tortillas and a shredded cabbage and cucumber salad dressed with olive oil and lemon.

Ingredients

1kg whole king prawns

For the marinade

8 cloves garlic, skin on
½ tsp caster sugar
1 tsp dried oregano (use Mexican if available)
pinch ground cloves
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup apple cider vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
sea salt, to taste

For the salsa

1 medium red capsicum
½ red onion
1 tbsp pickled jalapeños, finely diced
¼ cup packed coriander leaves, chopped
2 ripe avocados
¼ cup lime juice
sea salt, to taste

Method

FOR THE MARINADE, wrap the garlic cloves (with skin on) in foil and place in an oven at 180°C. Roast for about 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the garlic into a mortar. Add sugar, oregano and spices and pound to form a smooth paste. Combine with vinegar, then place the mixture into a bowl. Whisk in oil and season to taste.
PEEL AND DEVEIN prawns, add to the marinade and leave in a refrigerator for about half an hour.
FOR THE SALSA, split and deseed the capsicum. Finely cut into 5mm dice. Place in a large mixing bowl. Dice the onion and jalapeños the same size and add to the bowl with the chopped coriander. Cut the avocado into large dice and add to the bowl with the lime juice. Season to taste and toss gently. For better flavour, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.
FIRE UP the barbecue to a medium heat, making sure the grill bars are clean and well-oiled. Remove the prawns from the marinade and drain well. Grill prawns for a minute or two on each side, depending on their size, then place on a plate, covered with foil, to rest for a minute.
SERVE THE PRAWNS on a platter, drizzled with any resting juices and with the salsa on the side.
TIP The avocado salsa is delicious with any meat or seafood. To provide a second salsa, I like to dice tomatoes and mix with chopped chipotle chillies in adobo sauce.