Mozambican Peri-Peri King Prawns (Camarão Nacional)
Plump, sweet shellfish sautéed in garlic, white wine, and fresh parsley, finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon and sea salt.
Ingredients
- • 1kg jumbo king prawns (head-on, split down the back and deveined)
- • 1/3 cup fresh red African bird's eye chillies (peri-peri), finely chopped
- • 6 garlic cloves, minced
- • 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- • 1/4 cup olive oil
- • 3 juicy lemons, juiced and zested
- • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- • 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- • 1 tsp sea salt
- • 1/2 tsp black pepper
- • Crusty Portuguese rolls and spiced chips, to serve
Preparation Steps
Blend bird's eye chillies, minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, smoked paprika, olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper into a fiery red emulsified sauce.
Place split king prawns in a large shallow dish; pour half the peri-peri marinade over prawns, tossing so sauce gets under the shell; marinate for 30 minutes.
Whisk the remaining peri-peri marinade into the melted butter and chopped parsley in a small saucepan over low heat for basting.
Heat a charcoal grill or ribbed cast iron griddle pan until smoking hot; lay prawns shell-side down and grill for 3-4 minutes, basting generously with the spicy peri-peri butter.
Turn prawns over and grill for 2 minutes until shells are crimson, meat is opaque and juicy with charred grill marks.
Pile onto a platter with the sizzling peri-peri garlic butter poured over; serve with warm crusty bread for dipping.