Butterflied prawns with peanut-lime sauce

Prawns are an Aussie classic for Christmas Day, and these are a delicious and easy starter. The sauce is a perfect #sugarswap for sugary store-bought sauces.

Recipe: That Sugar Film (http://thatsugarfilm.com )

Lay out a sheet of newspaper, dump on these prawns and away you go. Keeping most the of prawn’s shell intact helps keep the flesh moist when they cook, so don’t be put off by a little bit of peeling – after all, it means less work for you and some fun for your guests! Just have a finger bowl on hand and some napkins and everyone will be happy.

The peanut-lime sauce is very versatile – for a vegan version, bring out some blanched asparagus stacked in a Mason jar for dipping.

INGREDIENTS

For the prawns:

• 1/2 kilo fresh, uncooked whole prawns
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped (optional)

For the sauce

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp tamari

METHOD

1. To prepare the prawns, remove the heads, then butterfly by putting the prawns belly-up and cutting down the middle from the tail to where the head was. Be careful not to cut them all the way in half (although it’s not the end of the world if you do). Open the prawn up like a butterfly, and remove the intestinal tract. Give them a rinse.

2. Toss the rinsed prawns in a bowl with the minced garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside to marinade. The longer the better, but if you’ve only got 5 minutes then that’ll do!

3. To make the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together or blend them in a small processor. Add more water if you’d like a thinner sauce.

4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat and when hot tip the prawns in and cook for 2-3 minutes until the flesh has lost its opaqueness. Keep an eye on them, the exact timing will depend on the size of your prawns.

5. Serve the prawns immediately with the sauce, a bowl for the shells, and plenty of napkins!