Prawn and Bean Salad

January 20, 2004

Many years ago my mother acquired a new name. Her charming daughters started referring to her at The Fossil. At the time she was probably only in her 40s, though from our vantage point that no doubt seemed a pretty ripe old age.

She has just passed that grand milestone of 80. I tried to persuade her to let me host a soiree for her and her "biddy‚" friends from the bowling club and mahjong but she was a reluctant starter, so instead we had a small family gathering, jointly celebrating her 80th and our son Ben's 25th. (That's The Fossil on the left pictured with my mother-in-law.)

Ben was visiting from Australia for a few days so it was a good chance for everyone to catch up and for us to share some crayfish a generous friend had brought back from one of his diving trips.

It's amazing how everyone clusters around the plate of crayfish when it has been prepared, but how scarce they all were when it came to wresting the meat from the shell, cracking the claws and piercing one's fingers with rogue spines. However, unobserved, that is the time for me to claim cook's perks.

I decided to make this a seafood meal so we also had freshly cooked prawns, made into a salad and served on a large platter, surrounding the crayfish.

Lately I have been buying frozen raw prawns which have had the heads and shells removed. This is a really economical way to buy them as there is no wastage and, because they are cooked just prior to serving, they really taste a lot fresher than frozen cooked prawns. This also allows for them to be marinated in their raw state, letting the flavour penetrate rather than being added on to already cooked crustaceans.

I also bought some smoked eel. I used to use a lot of it about 20 years back when I would make a smoked eel pate to serve with melba toast as an appetizer or to go with pre-dinner drinks. This time I served it simply cut into small serving pieces.

The Fossil sometimes needs to be persuaded to sample some recipes. She was about to pass on the eel when I reminded her she used to be happy to eat it as a pate. Anyway, she was soon happily devouring it.

I was also wondering about the cannelini beans which are in the salad, knowing she would never touch baked beans. However, having accompanied me on my Mediterranean Warehouse shopping expeditions, she was keen to try them.

Prawn and Bean Salad

500g fresh round green beans, topped and tailed and snapped in half
1 or 2 cans cannelini beans
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
750g raw prawns (shelled weight)
1 teaspoon chilli paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil then drop in the beans. Bring back to the boil then simmer the beans for three minutes. Remove immediately from the heat, drain and plunge into cold water. Drain and add more cold water. Drain and place in a large bowl with the drained cannelini beans and the red onion. Stir in the chilli paste and garlic.

Bring another pot of salted water to the boil and add the prawns. Return to the boil and simmer until the prawns turn pink and are cooked. Drain, plunge into cold water and drain. Add to the beans.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, parsley and oregano and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the prawns and beans and turn well to coat.

Chill until required then spoon onto an attractive serving dish.