Slam Jam Challenge#1: Orange and Fennel Prawns with Vanilla Polenta Cakes
August 10, 2008 in Uncategorized
I’ve never cooked prawns or polenta before.
And I’m a big fan of prawns (goggas of the sea but bloody lekker!). The closest I’ve come to polenta is braai-pap with chakalaka.
So I was quite keen on stepping up to this challenge.
Here we have the stars of today’s show: prawns, vanilla pod, fennel (sprigs and fennel teabag for an improv effort), polenta and orange.
Headless and de-veined prawns were marinated overnight in the following:
Juice of two oranges (Cover the whole oranges in boiling water before you juice them, I read somewhere that the immersion in hot water makes it easier to draw out all their juice. )
Juice of one lemon (Juice as per orange method)
rough salt
cracked black pepper
Nomu’s African Heat
Peri-peri oil
Melted butter
Nando’s Medium peri-peri sauce (just a dash)
Chopped garlic (lots and lots)
Fennel sprigs
The contents of one fennel teabag
Coarse red chillies
Orange rind (the obvious thing would be to use the skin of one or two of the juiced oranges)
To cook:
Warm up peri-peri oil in a wok with fennel seeds and sesame seeds. Wait until the seeds give off their scent before tossing in the prawns and their marinate.
Once the prawns turn pink, toss in a can of chopped tomatoes, the juice of one more orange and some more fennel seeds.
Cook the prawns until the liquid reduces into a sauce. (If you’d like the sauce to thicken further, do a cheat move by sprinkling over a little flour and stirring in).
For the polenta:
This was prepared according to the packet’s instructions.
Four parts water to one part polenta.
The water was brought to a gentle boil along with one split vanilla pod. In went the polenta and a bout of mad stirring followed. I added a few drops of vanilla extract for extra flavour.
Once cooked, a serving suggestion on the packet led me to taking dollops of polenta and shaping them into rounds using olive-oiled hands and putting them into a hot oven to crust. (Remove the vanilla pods before doing this. Clean them, dry them and pop into a jar of sugar to store. Everyone will attest that this gives you yummy vanilla flavoured sugar you can use in anything and over everything.)
The result:
Saucy orange prawns served on vanilla polenta cakes.
The orange paired with the fennel (and punctuated by the garlic and peri-peri) was perfectly complemented by the delicate vanilla of the polenta (I couldn’t figure out whether I was tasting the vanilla or smelling it, either way I was enthralled).
I deem (husband deems, mother deems) this challenge a raging success.
I ate the entire meal with a goofy smile on my face, lost in the flavour of it all. Thank you Stardust Bunny for inspiring a symphony that will be encored time and time again.
Originally blogged here.
Leave a suggestion for a slam jam challenge here.
latte said on August 10, 2008
Mmmm, looks so good?! I had somewhat of a seafood fest this weekend in durbs but I could still eat some of these. Very nice, saaleha.
Collywolly said on August 10, 2008
Oooooh this sounds sooo goooood!!!! I stepped out and ate prawns for the first time last year (dont you laugh at me!!) for my 55th birthday
And I love them now! Have a great week xx
saaleha said on August 10, 2008
Thanks Nafisa and Browniegirl. This was such fun to make. I hope all my challenges work out as well.
@Browniegirl, I’m glad for you and the prawns. Go easy though, these unassuming crustaceans are quite high in cholesterol apparently.
naqiyah said on August 11, 2008
the heat does it for me!
cant wait to try this one! well done
art_of_food said on August 11, 2008
Oh wow, sounds interesting! I love prawns:-)
ilovefood said on August 11, 2008
kudos to your creativity, Would never have dreamed that such a combination would have ever worked, but seems like it did. I would have been so lost with such a challenge!
WotsForLunch said on August 11, 2008
Well done, the dish sounds devine and it looks like you had lots of funny thinking about and making it.
foodie said on August 11, 2008
Good on you for someone who has never cooked prawns or polenta you did pretty good.
saaleha said on August 11, 2008
I never liked cooking; would go and hide my face in a book everytime my gran would call me into the kitchen for some task. She was quite concerned about me finding a husband when I literally did not have a cooking clue:)
However, I loved reading and clipping out recipes I subsequently filed but never tried and thoroughly enjoyed the antics of all the tv chefs. It was only after I moved away from home (about a year and a bit ago) that I really began to cook and enjoy the process.
And now, I’ve swapped my housemates for a husband, and have suddenly let my inner martha-stewart out of her cell
All those years of absorbing theory has come into fruition via polenta and prawns:)
ilovefood said on August 11, 2008
sorry, keep on visiting this recipe. Still cannot believe that you actually made prawns, oranges, fennel and vanilla work!!! lol!
saaleha said on August 11, 2008
If I didn’t eat this myself, I scarcely would have believed it either!
I think the peri-peri and garlic married the other flavours in a holy union.
Orange works really well with prawns I must say, I’ve since googled the orange/prawn combination and have found it’s regularly used.
TheMexican said on August 13, 2008
well , gives an intresting twist and variation to my usual prawn & peri-peri dish. Take care