Roasted Prawns

This is the kind of plated dinner that earned its place on upscale 1990s menus. Butterflied prawns seared in the pan and finished in a hot oven, mounded on a bed of spinach-purée mashed potatoes, then surrounded with a pool of puréed roasted red pepper cream. Restaurant plating at home.

The spinach mash is the trick that gives this dish its wow factor. Raw spinach whirred with hot cream turns into an emerald purée you fold right into hot mashed potatoes. They come out bright green and vegetal in the best way, light years better than the dull khaki color of boiled spinach mashed in.

Searing the prawns on one side only, then finishing in the oven, keeps them curled, caramelized, and juicy. Flipping them early or overcooking in the pan turns them rubbery fast. Pull them at 6 to 8 minutes tops.

The red pepper sauce needs full reduction and a blender pass for that silky texture. Pooling it around the potatoes gives the plate that fine-dining splash of color.

Serve immediately; the potatoes start weeping if they sit too long.

Chef Tips

• Use jumbo or colossal prawns; small shrimp dry out during the roast.
• Roast your own red peppers over a gas flame for smokier flavor than jarred.
• Run the potatoes through a ricer instead of mashing for silkier texture.
• Warm the serving plates; cold plates suck the heat out of this fast.

Variations

• Swap spinach for watercress for a peppery, more adult mash.
• Finish the sauce with a knob of cold butter for extra gloss.
• Add a sprinkle of smoked paprika to the prawns for a Spanish-leaning twist.