Plentiful platters

Gurdeep Loyal shares three beautifully spiced, generous sharing dishes to bring to the table

Three beautifully spiced sharing dishes

Coconut, green chilli and za’atar tiger prawns with herby quinoa

The fresh vibrant ingredients in this platter are a moreish flavour collision of South Indian coconut, ginger and green chilli, combined with the Middle East with the toasty-herby za’atar, fresh mint and dill. The stuffing is also delicious baked inside baby aubergines, whole roasted onions and even whole mild chillies.

1 HOUR 20 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | GF

freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut 175g, soaked in water, plus extra for sprinkling

garlic 2 cloves

ginger finely grated to make 1 tbsp

green chillies 3

mint a small bunch

unsalted butter 100g

za’atar (I used Zaytoun) 3 tbsp, plus extra to serve

gram flour 2 tbsp

lemon 1, zested and juiced

caster sugar 1 tbsp

large tiger prawns 16, unpeeled but heads and legs removed

olive oil for drizzling

HERBY QUINOA

quinoa 400g

chickpeas 400g tin, drained

red onion ½, finely chopped

dill a small bunch, chopped

DRESSING

olive oil 3 tsp

toasted sesame oil ½ tsp

ginger finely grated to make 1½ tsp

garlic 1 clove, crushed

limes 2, zested and juiced

soft light brown sugar 2 tbsp

1 Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Squeeze the soaked coconut to release as much liquid as possible, then toast in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until just starting to turn golden. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

2 Put the garlic, ginger and chillies into a blender with a little water and blitz to a paste. Tip into a bowl and set aside. Blitz the mint with a little water to make a bright green paste, then tip this into another bowl and set aside.

3 Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the chilli-ginger paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the za’atar, gram flour, lemon zest and juice, sugar, toasted coconut and 2 tsp of fine sea salt, then add the mint paste and cook for another minute until the mixture is thick and fragrant.

4 Lay the prawns out on a chopping board and make a cut along the back of each from head to tail using a sharp knife. The cuts should be deep enough to allow the prawns to be filled without cutting all the way through. Devein the prawns with the tip of a knife, then open out the two sides of the prawns using your thumb. Stuff each one generously with the coconut stuffing. Press the stuffing down using your thumbs, then transfer the stuffed prawns to a baking sheet.

5 Rinse the quinoa under cold running water, then cook in a pan of boiling water for 15-20 minutes or until the grains are tender. Drain and tip into a bowl along with the chickpeas, red onion and most of the dill.

6 Drizzle the stuffed prawns with some olive oil and scatter with a little more grated or desiccated coconut. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the prawns have turned pink and the stuffing is starting to char at the edges.

7 To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, green chillies, lime zest and juice, sugar and 1 tsp of fine sea salt, until the sugar has dissolved. Drizzle the dressing over the quinoa and toss well. Top the quinoa with the remaining dill and coconut. Just before serving, scatter the prawns with a little more coconut and za’atar, then serve with the quinoa.

PER SERVING 745 kcals | fat 45.4G saturates 28G | carbs 51.7G | sugars 19.2G fibre 14.2G | protein 25.1G | salt 4.8G