CHEESY POLENTA AND DIRTY PRAWNS
SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS For the polenta:
2L fresh chicken or veg stock 200g polenta, cornmeal or grits Sprig of thyme
80g Cheddar, grated 30g Parmesan, grated 30g butter Pinch of cayenne pepper Pinch of white pepper Sea salt For the dirty prawns, spring onions and bacon: 16 raw king prawns, peeled with tails on, deveined and split down the middle to butterfly 1tbsp olive oil 6 garlic cloves, crushed 100g smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons 1tbsp butter 4 spring onions, finely chopped 1/2tsp sea salt 1/4tsp white pepper Good pinch of cayenne pepper Squeeze of lemon juice
METHOD: To make the polenta
1. Put the chicken (or veg) stock, polenta, thyme and quarter of a teaspoon of salt in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer over a very low heat for one hour. Initially it will resemble murky yellow water, but have patience, it
will slowly come together. Keep whisking the mixture, especially during the last 15 minutes of cooking, to prevent the bottom of the polenta scorching.
2. Once you have a nice thick gloopy consistency similar to a well-cooked porridge, which pulls away from the sides of the pan and has no bite to it when tasted, mix in the cheeses, butter and peppers. You will notice that the the polenta lightens in colour and becomes lovely and shiny. Season with salt to taste and keep hot until ready to serve. For the dirty prawns, spring onions and bacon:
1. Place the prawns in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat them, add the crushed garlic and allow to marinate while you get everything else ready. This dish cooks fast so have everything prepped and organised before you start cooking.
2. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat with a slick of oil. Add the bacon and fry until it is starting to crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. In the same pan, melt the butter in the remaining bacon fat. Turn up the heat to high and add the prawns. You want to cook these hard and fast. When they have begun to turn opaque, return the bacon to the pan along with the spring onions, salt, pepper and cayenne.
4. Check for seasoning and give it a generous squeeze of lemon juice before serving alongside the polenta.