Our Favourite No-Fuss Prawn Salad
Prawn salad
serves 4
This salad is refreshing, light and full of zesty flavours, with the watermelon, prawns and halloumi working really well together.
4 spring onions (scallions)
250g (9oz) halloumi, cut into slices
1 tbsp sesame oil, plus extra for brushing
200g (7oz) raw, tail-on tiger prawns (shrimp), shells removed
1 watermelon (approximately 700g/1lb 9oz), cut into small wedges
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
handful of mint, leaves picked
100g (3½oz) toasted cashews, chopped
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 avocados, thinly sliced
Lime dressing
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp fish sauce
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the lime dressing.
Cut the spring onions (scallions) into thin strips lengthways and put them into a small bowl or glass of iced water – this will make them curl, creating lovely decorative coils.
Heat a griddle pan and brush both sides of the halloumi slices with some sesame oil. Once the pan is hot, griddle the halloumi for 3 minutes on each side, creating char lines.
In a frying pan (skillet) heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the prawns and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the prawns are cooked through. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Get a large salad bowl and add the watermelon wedges, red chilli, mint leaves, cashews, sesame seeds and spring onion curls. Pour over half the dressing and toss so everything is well coated. Top with the sliced avocado, prawns and halloumi. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve.
Extract from Foolproof Fish by Libby Silbermann, published by Quadrille Publishing, RPP $24.99.