Grilled Prawns with Pear & Walnut Salad

Grilled prawns with pear and walnut salad is the perfect dish for entertaining as most of the preparation can be done ahead of time, and cooking the prawns only on the shell side ensures they’ll be the juiciest you’ve ever tasted (see video below). Prawns oxidise quickly once they’re caught or harvested so are best stored either frozen or refrigerated in a tub of cold water (details on storing prawns here). You can leave the heads on for presentation if you like; once they’re in the marinade they can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of hours, just remove them from the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking. After they’re cooked they can sit at room temperature as they’re delicious hot or warm. You can mix up the ingredients in this salad to suit the season and your taste; radicchio and witlof are lovely in winter, use mandarin or orange segments instead of the grapes, and apple instead of pear if you prefer. Try it with a glass of The Somm & The Winemaker Arneis from ChaLou Wines in Orange. This textural, zingy wine – made by one of my favourite sommeliers and her winemaking bestie – is ideal enjoyed with friends and family, just like this salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

12 large green prawns
30g wild rocket
1 baby cos lettuce
1 tablespoon agrodolce red wine vinegar
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small Corella pear
40g walnuts, roughly broken
12 seedless red grapes, halved
Crusty bread, for serving

Marinade

½ cup dry white wine
1 fresh bay leaf, torn
1 clove garlic, crushed
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method

Make Marinade: Combine all ingredients in a flat dish large enough to hold the prawns in a single layer.
Cut off and discard the prawn heads, place prawns on a chopping board on their backs and split down the underside almost all the way through without cutting through the shell. Remove the digestive tracts.
Turn them over and press firmly along the shell to flatten them out.
Place prawns in the marinade, flesh side down, cover and set aside for about 30 minutes.
Rinse rocket in a sink of cold water, if it’s looking a little tired soak it for 30 minutes or so to refresh it.
Remove any coarse outer leaves from the lettuce and cut the rest into 2cm-thick slices, rinse it in cold water and dry well.
Put it into a mixing bowl with rocket, walnut and grapes. Set aside.
Place vinegar in a screw top jar with a good pinch of salt and grind of pepper and shake to dissolve salt. Add oil and shake to emulsify. Set aside.
Preheat a char-grill pan or heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat.
Turn prawns in the marinade then arrange in the pan, shell side down, in a single layer and cook for 3–5 minutes, depending on size, until flesh is just opaque.
Set aside in a warm place.
Quarter pear, discard core, cut into slices and add to the mixing bowl.
Pour most of the dressing over it and toss to combine well, reserving a little dressing to drizzle over the prawns.
Arrange salad on a serving platter, leaving any excess dressing behind in the mixing bowl.
Arrange prawns on top.
Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve prawns with pear and walnut salad warm or at room temperature.