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prawns

Creamy Tomato Chili Garlic Prawns (How to Get Your Family to Eat Veggies)

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Getting a brother who is a non-vegetable fan to eat veggies seems impossible. But this dish actually makes him ask for it! A creamy, spicy, garlicy tomato sauce that is packed with flavor and deliciousness with soft cooked prawns soaking in it and some bread to dip in – how could someone possibly not ask for this dish? Bonus: it really is not difficult to prepare, meaning anyone could make it and it takes very little time to make.

The claim with my brother is no joke: whenever he gets to choose something I cook for him, he asks for this. And yes, technically tomatoes are fruits and not veggies, but this is such a great way to sneak in some extra vitamins for non-veggie fans!

What is special about this dish?

It is not your regular chili-garlic prawns but a bit fancier. Like a crossover of dish and a a creamy tomato sauce that you‘d add onto pasta. And this is not only what makes this recipe unique but it accounts for the delicious, creamy flavor.

What else is quite special about this dish is that it is really versatile. Depending on season and pantry/ fridge stocking, you can adjust it. For example, if you do not have fresh cherry tomatoes, you could also use large tomatoes or canned ones. That even enables you to cook this in winter, when tomatoes are not in season. Another switch would be substituting the bread. In case of not having bread at home, to go along with it, it can be switched for rice, quinoa or even pasta. Also, the prawns can vary from time to time. If you can only find smaller ones, use those – it‘ll be delicious anyway! If you happen to find large ones though – great! Even better!

Is this dish healthy?

It can definitely be claimed that this dish is nutrient dense. It comes with a bunch of nutrients from all different sources! First of all, the tomatoes account for a solid base of fibre and vitamins. The chili and garlic add even more. The prawns provide a large serving of protein, iron and calcium. Also, they come with a range of vitamins and minerals to keep your immune system strong and stable.

The olive oil and greek yoghurt found in the sauce make sure you have a healthy amount of unsaturated fats and even more protein. The wine we add to the dish mainly is a source of flavor, and no worries, the alcohol cooks down anyway. When serving with some sort of grain (such as bread, rice, quinoa or pasta), we also make sure that we consume enough carbs to stay energized. Make it wholegrain for even more fibre and nutrients! As you can see, this dish indeed is packed with nutrients that will keep you happy and healthy!

Can really anyone make this?

I‘d definitely argue so! It is so easy! The first thing that needs to be done is to thaw the prawns. The probably easiest way to do so is placing the frozen prawns in a bowl with warm water. By changing the water every now and then, as soon as it gets cold, and refilling it with warm water, lets the prawns defrost slowly. Once they are free of ice, they can be drained and laid out on a kitchen towel to let them dry. It is important that they are really dry and do not let any water for several reasons: first, they won‘t turn as crispy if they are still wet and secondly, the water will splash in the hot oil. And this can hurt when touching your skin.

That already was the most challenging part. All that is left to do now is to finely slice or mince the garlic and chili and to half or quarter the tomatoes. Or to chop them into bite sized pieces if using larger ones. First the spices and then the tomatoes and prawns are fried in a little olive oil and then deglazed with white wine. Just before serving we still stir in a little ricotta or greek yoghurt and tomato sauce and voilà, it is ready to be served! Easy right?

To be honest, it is impossible to imagine our staple recipes without this one, I can only suggest you try it out!

If you have any questions or comments on remakes, I would be more than happy to see and answer them! Just comment below here or text me on instagram (@uneptcuisiniere)!

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Creamy Tomato Chili Garlic Prawns (How to Get Your Family to Eat Veggies)

Imagining out Mealplan without this recipe is impossible – spicy prawns drowning in a creamy, delicious tomato sauce packed with flavor. Some fresh bread to accompany it? Plus, it is ready in 25 minutes (at max!!)! Who could even say no to that?

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 1 kg prawns (thawed if they had been frozen before)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 fresh chili (depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 500 g (cherry) tomatoes (you can also use canned tomatoes if not in season)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt or ricotta
  • a splash of white wine
  • 100 ml tomato sauce
  • salt, pepper, oregano

How to

  1. Finely slice the garlic and mince the chili. Half the cherry tomatoes or cut them into bite sized pieces, if using larger ones.

  2. Pat the thawed prawns dry. To a pan add the olive oil, garlic and chili and heat up all together. Once hot, let them fry for about 1-2 minutes before adding the prawns and tomatoes (in case of using canned tomatoes, let the prawns fry for a 2-4 minutes before adding them in).

  3. Generously salt, pepper and season with dried oregano. After about 4 minutes of frying, add a splash or white wine, turn the heat down to medium heat and let it simmer for about 4-5 minutes. You may need to add a little more wine.

  4. Generously salt, pepper and season with dried oregano. After about 4 minutes of frying, add a splash or white wine, turn the heat down to medium heat and let it simmer for about 4-5 minutes. You may need to add a little more wine.

  5. In the meantime prepare a side to accompany it. Just before serving, stir in the tomato sauce and greek yoghurt or ricotta and let cook for another minute. Serve and enjoy!

And now I do not want to hold you back from cooking for too long – so bon appétit!
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Super Quick, Family-Approved, Herby Prawn and Avocado Salad

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Summer season = salad season. We all know that. When it’s hot outside (which it hopefully is soon) and the sun is shining we neither want to spend hours in the kitchen, nor can anyone really eat something warm. So salads are the perfect dish to eat. They are quick to make, healthy and mostly. But they can be boring so easily.

They definitely can, but they don’t necessarily have to be. If you only make the same one over and over again, I agree, this would be boring. If you switch it up though, and add basically an entire herb garden and make the best garlic prawns ever, and still only spend 15 minutes making it, then it is a really good kind a salad. And yep, it is very delicious too (my brother ate the entire bowl so it‘s got to be delicious!)!

What is special about this dish? 

Well, it definitely is not your average salad! Its not just greens & dressing & maybe some veggies – no; it is way more delicious!! To make it taste a bit more like summer and a bit fresher, we are adding a whole brunch of herbs. Mint, basil, parsley, really, whatever you have on hand. 

And also the dressing is really really fresh, since we‘re adding some lemon and even more herbs to it, but also some honey. It‘s sweetness balanced the sourness of the lemon out perfectly. And not to forget about the prawns. They are SO. good. They are fried in olive oil with fresh garlic. While it probably is not the best recipe for a date, it definitely is the most delicious way to cook prawns!! The combo of garlic and prawns simply is unbeatable! 

Is this dish healthy? 

It definitely is! There are a whole lot of greens in here. All the herbs and also the salad are packed with different nutrient and vitamins and also a lot of fibre. Adding herbs to dishes is such an easy and flavorful way to add vitamins and fibre. We also get a decent amount of essential nutrients, and also a lot of water, from the cucumber. 

The prawns account for the right amount of protein and the olive oil makes sure we are not lacking those unsaturated fats. The lemon keeps our immune system strong with its Vitamin C. The only thing that is not directly included in the salad is a source of carbohydrates. But here you could just have some whole grain bread on the side or add some quinoa or couscous in the salad. 

How to make this dish?

There are three things that need to be done. 1. prepping the veggies; therefore we need to wash the salad, slice the cucumber and peel and chop the avocado into cubes. 2. making the dressing; here we need to mix some olive oil, lemon juice, honey and the finelly chopped herbs. And 3. we need to make the prawns; that really only comes down to finely slicing some garlic, frying it in hot oil for about 30 seconds and then adding the prawns and cooking them on each side for about 3 minutes. And voilà! 

In case the prawns are frozen

just add them to a bowl with some hot water (not boiling one, just warm one) and let them stand for about 30 minutes, changing the water every 10 minutes to let them thaw without cooking. Then just pat them dry with a kitchen towel and cook as the recipe says! 

This salad is amazing for those hot summer days or for whenever you are craving something light and healthy and fresh. It anyway is very easy to make and a must try! 

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Super Quick, Family-Approved, Herby Prawn and Avocado Salad

Salads in summer are simply perfect. But always having the same one over and over again also can be veryyyy boring. That’s why we need to switch things up and make this delicious goodie.

Course lunch, Salad
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

For the prawns:

  • 800 g prawns*
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic

For the salad:

  • 1 head of salad
  • 1 avocado
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon (only the juice)
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped dill

How to

  1. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Heat up the olive oil and butter in a pan and sauté the garlic in the hot oil for about 30 seconds, then add in the prawns. Fry them on each side for about 3 minutes until pink and cooked through. 

  2. In the meantime finely chop the herbs and mix them with the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and honey. 

  3. Wash and tear the salad into bite sized pieces. Half the avocado, remove the pit and scoop it out with a spoon. Then cut into about 1cm sized chunks. Also add this to the salad. 

  4. Mix with the dressing and divide onto the bowls. Top with the prawns and garnish with fresh dill. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*if the prawns are frozen, add them to a bowl and cover them with warm water. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then drain and repeat until they have thawed. Then lay them onto a kitchen towel and tap them dry. 

I genuinely hope that you‘ll enjoy it! 
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

Shrimp, Carrot & Aubergine Mushroom Dumplings

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Dumplings are one of my absolutely favourite things to have. I always order them when going out to Chinese or Japanese restaurant but I have never dared to make them at home because I thought it was super complicated to make them. Wrong! They are not complicated at all, just require a little work, which is a lot of fun when doing it with someone else.

I do not know if anyone else loves the mix of textures and flavours or a decently spiced filling and a soft and doughy outer shell as much as I do. The combination always gets me and I believe that it is the perfect comforting and still healthy food. The great thing is that you can switch up the fillings and get so creative. There is nothing you cannot put into those cute, little dumplings.

Since everyone has different taste buds, I created 2 versions for this first dumpling blog post. A vegetarian (vegan actually) and one with seafood. They both are incredibly delicious. For the vegetarian I combined some super finely chopped eggplant and some super finally chopped mushrooms. The chopping really takes time but making it that small just changes the taste so much because it almost feels like ground meat, texture wise, and you have both veggies in one bite. This mixture is sautéed just for a minute or so and then tossed with a teriyaki sauce. The sauce really adds a lot of flavour and makes it so addictingly good.

The shrimp dumpling is even easier. I use frozen shrimps simply because they are easiest to get and to store. Before preparing them, they need to be defrosted, which you can either do by taking them out of the freezer a few hours before cooking or if you forgot to do that, you can place them in a bowl with warm water and let them defrost that way. The shrimps are also finely chopped. The other 2 ingredients are carrots, which are peeled and also chopped up really finely and wild garlic. I love to use wild garlic at this time of the year but if you do not have that on hand you can use normal garlic cloves instead. This mixture does not have to be pre cooked, because the shrimps I use are already cooked before frozen. If yours are not you can quickly pan fry them or you just cook them when steaming.

As for the outside dough, in this recipe we are using wonton wrappers. You can get those frozen at any asian market and sometimes even in supermarkets or speciality stores. Those are the same ones you would use for spring rolls. So you can deep fry, pan fry or steam them. Same with those dumplings. I am 100% down for steaming, simply because I believe they taste best and the flavours come out most, but you can also crisp them up in a pan. I would not recommend deep-frying them tough.

Here I decided to close them differently and bring them into diverse shapes but if this is too much work for you, leaving it with one is absolutely fine. The filling and shaping does take some time, because each wrapper is a bite, so it takes a while until you have gotten them all read but it is so worth it.

You can serve them as an appetiser when friends are over, or also if not, or just prepare more and make an asian spread for lunch or dinner (maybe with the satay skewers, which are coming up on the blog next week?). This recipe is totally family approved, not only everyone likes eating them, but the making them together part is. a lot of fun too!

When you serve them, then do so with some soy, teriyaki, chilli or peanut sauce to dip in!

I hope that you will love this recipe as much as I do!

Have fun cooking,

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Shrimp and Carrot Dumplings

Light, easy and super tasty. Crunchy carrot, soft prawns and fresh wild garlic, the result, an absoltue amazing dish!

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine asian, Chinese
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 dumplings
Calories 48 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 3 carrots
  • 300 g prawns frozen and thawed
  • 1 handful wild garlic
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • some sesame seeds

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Peel the carrot. Slice and cube it into mini chunks, about 2 mm large. The smaller you get them, the better they are. Or, grate them with a grater.

  2. Defrost the prawns and chop them very small too. Take the wild garlic, wash it and also cut this one into small sizes.

  3. Place all of those ingredients in a bowl and mix them together with the soy sauce.

  4. Take one wrapper at a time and place a teaspoon of the filling into the middle. Brush the edges of the wraper with some water and fold two diagonal edges together. Close the dumpling up by pressing the open sides to each other so they close.

  5. If you want to, you can make a small pattern by taking one end of the triangle and folding it towards the other side. The part of the wrapper where the dough has been folded over, now folds over in the same direction. Continue doing this until you have reached the other side of the wrapper.

  6. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up.

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro.

    Enjoy!

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Aubergine and Mushroom Dumplings

A vegan version of the best asian comfort food. Soft and tangy aubergine mushroom mix tossed in soft wrappers. INcredibly good.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Prep Time 27 Minuten
Cook Time 8 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 15 wrappers
Calories 39 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 15 wonton wrappers
  • 1/2 eggplant
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 200 g mushrooms you can use champignons or oyster mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce can be substituted for 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp honey
  • sesame seeds
  • fresh cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 3 cm ginger

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Finely chop the ginger, garlic, mushrooms and eggplant into about 2mm sized cubes. The smaller the better.

    In a pan heat up the oil. Sautée the veggies for about 2 minutes. Take them off the heat and stir in the teriyaki sauce.

    Take one wrapper at a time and place one teaspoon of the mixture in the middle. Brush all edges with some water. Take the four edges and pull them up to the center and press them together. Take the remaing open sides and also press those together so the dumpling is fully closed.

  2. Repeat that with the remaining wrappers until the filling is used up. 

    Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Take a steamer, a bamboo steamer preferably, and place the dumplings in it on top of some parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.

    Steam them for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft. Serve them with some sauces like soy sauce, chili sauce or peanut sauce, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some fresh cilantro. 

    Enjoy!

3 Tomato Gnocchi with Garlicky Prawns

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If you have ever been to Italy you know how a sauce with fresh tomatoes tastes. Creamy, sweet, tangy, fresh, natural, just delicious!! My family and I, we go to Italy every year, at least twice and eating some kind of pasta, gnocchi or risotto with fresh tomatoes is a staple there! I can’t spend time in Italy without eating the delicious Italian tomatoes.

Well, now I am back from holidays, back from Italy and only dreaming about those incredibly delicious tomatoes (not sure if you already know, but I am a tomato addict!! Favourite food of all time), and if I buy a tomato sauce at the store it is far from what you´d get in Italy. I’m not saying that they are not tasty but just not comparable with what you would get in an Italian restaurant. But as I was really craving a tomatoey dish with all the flavor I decided to start experimenting and finally created this super delicious 3-tomato gnocchi.

I was able to find some local, big, austrian tomatoes in different colors and shapes, at the farmers market, which I really liked (the more local the better!!), and all were organic from farmers around and did not contain any chemicals or anything else they didn’t need. I honestly loved the variety of color and really liked the different shapes, which made every single tomato unique. I definitely prefer them having different shapes and sizes without any artificial stuff in them than having 10 tomatoes with exactly the same color, the same shape, and the same taste, which 1) is boring & 2) not natural! I also found some small honey tomatoes which are my favourite! (Best snack ever!) They are sweet, have a great texture and just every bite is treat. The third kind of tomato I used was tomato paste, to intensify the flavor, and I would definitely not leave out when making this because it does make a difference!!! 

I also used fresh basil from our garden, white wine from the vineyard next to our house, and some sour cream from Austrian farmers (if you want to make a vegan version of this sauce, either leave out the sour cream at all or substitute it with coconut cream or another vegan cream cheese substitute)! The prawns that I used were from Italy and I bought them frozen so that they are really fresh. For this dish I used parted tiger prawns because I do not like to have small prawns where there only is one bite. I’d recommend peeling them before grilling or frying them since I believe that it is easier do this before than after cooking but if you prefer peeling it after to give it a look then that works too! 

When it comes to gnocchi I would always recommend using fresh ones. I personally do not like the packaged ones a lot since most of them only tend to become more and more the longer you chew them. You can either make them yourself or if you have a gourmet food store or an Italian store close to where you live, Idaho recommend buying fresh gnocchis there because the quality of fresh ones is just better. I used frozen ones I made over a year ago, which was not the best decision because they were in the freezer for pretty long, so they turned very mushy as soon as I cooked them. It didn’t make a difference in taste but in the looks. So if you can, use as fresh ones as you can get. Of course, if you do not like gnocchi, the sauce also tastes really really good with some pasta or even with rice!

I always make this dish when I start to miss Italy, and it is especially delicious in summer when the tomatoes are fresh, seasonal, and so flavorful. It also is a really healthy and balanced dish. You get some good carbs and vitamins out of the potatoes in the gnocchi, a lot of vitamins and antioxidants from the tomatoes, healthy fats from the olive oil, and some protein from the prawns. It is such a delicious and simple dish that will please the entire family and satisfy all your needs. I hope that you will like this dish and if you have any questions just leave them in the comments, I will answer you! If you are recreating it, just leave the hashtag #unepetitcuisiniere and I will see them!

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3 Tomato Gnocchi with Garlicky Prawns

A delicious & quick weeknight dinner

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 13 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 23 Minuten
Servings 2
Calories 584 kcal

What you will need

Thats what you will need:

  • 500 g Tomatoes lrge, and best different colours
  • 200 g Cherry tomatoes
  • 20 ml Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 Chili
  • 1 tbsp Sour Cream
  • 125 ml White Wine
  • 3 Garlic Cloves
  • 300 g Tiger Prawns
  • 300 g Gnocchi
  • 1 handful Basil

How to

Thats how it works:

  1. Cut the large tomatoes into 2cm cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Peel and finely slice one garlic clove and chili. In a big pan heat up half of the olive oil. In a smaller pot start bringing some water to a boil. When hot add the tomato paste to the oil and stir well until everything is well combined. Then add garlic and chili into the Oil and saute until it starts to turn golden-brown. Add the tomatoes into the pan and saute them for about 3 minutes. Pour the white wine over the tomatoes and add the sour cream and let it all simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Generously salt and a little pepper. If it gets too thick, add some more wine, if it is too thin add some more sour cream or let it simmer for a little longer.

  2. Meanwhile peal the prawns, slice the other 2 garlic cloves, and add the remaining olive oil into a pan and heat it up. Cook the Gnocchi in the boiling water for about 3 minutes (depending on the Gnocchi you have), until soft. Fry the prawns with the garlick in the oil for about 2 minztes on each side.

    Cut the basil into thin strips and add into the sauce. Keep a few leaves for the garnish.

  3. Drain the Gnocchi and add to the tomato sauce. Divide it onto 2 plates, add the prawns and garnish with basil.

    Serve & enjoy!