Grilled Prawns with Homemade Smoky Peri Peri Sauce

Fresh grilled prawns are the ultimate Mediterranean seaside dish. But when you combine fresh prawns with a homemade smoky, spicy Peri Peri sauce, it’s a tingling lip smacking sensation. You can make the Peri Peri sauce the day before so there’s less prep on the day and it can keep in the fridge for 2 weeks. The recipe makes about a large mason jar which you can use as a marinade or serve with chicken, steak etc. I usually double the recipe for other meals, freeze half or gift a jar to a friend. Serves 4-6 people.

INGREDIENTS

Half kilo of large quality tiger prawns
Olive oil

Homemade Peri-Peri Sauce

¼ cup of birds eye chillies , cut the green tops off but keep the seeds in
2 bay leaves
6-8 garlic cloves with skin on
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
½ tbsp oregano
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion quartered
1-2 ripe plum tomatoes
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp of smoked paprika
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp of red wine vinegar

method

For Peri Peri sauce, lightly char the whole red pepper over an open flame for 8-10 mins or grill on highest temperature. Turn it around ensuring the skin becomes charred and black all over.

Remove and immediately put in a bowl and cover with a plate for 10 minutes so that the steam loosens the skin. Cool and rub and rinse off the skin under water.

In a pan put the garlic cloves with skin on and onion over medium-high heat until charred and black and then turn until all sides charred. Cool and remove the skin off the garlic.

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth and like a paste.

Cook the sauce in a saucepan over medium-high heat until boiling and then lower heat and simmer for 20 mins. When cool, put the sauce in an airtight jar.

Wash the prawns in cold salted water. To clean and devein them, use kitchen scissors to snip off the legs and antennae. Then using the scissors, find the gap between the shell of the head and body and snip down the middle of the back following the line to the tail. Get a toothpick and carefully lift up the gunk ensuring all is removed. Wash again and pat dry with a paper towel.

Marinade the prawns with half a cup of the Peri Peri sauce for at least an hour or overnight for a deeper flavour.

Before cooking, bring to room temperature, brush with cooking oil and either BBQ on high or on a cast iron griddle pan which gets super hot compared to a normal frying pan. Resist the urge to move the prawns to ensure a good sear on one side for 3-4 mins depending how big your prawns are. You know it is ready to flip when the tail starts to turn orange and flesh on the sides are starting to look  opaque. Flip and cook for another 3-4 mins.

Cut one prawn the whole way through to check flesh has turned opaque white so you know it is cooked.

Serve immediately with wedges of lemon and a small bowl of extra Peri Peri sauce. Eat with fingers, sucking the juices of the Peri Peri sauce from the shell and give your guests plenty of paper napkins.