Spicy Prawn Tacos

Last weekend I found myself home alone with no plans. As this is quite the rarity, I decided to make the most of this time by myself by catching up on OITNB (omg how sad is the ending?!!), writing up a few blog posts and rustling up something tasty for dinner. One of my favourite cuisines is Mexican and one of my favourite Mexican dishes is prawn tacos. So I thought why not give it a go! I already had the prawns in the freezer, plus wraps, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and spicy sauce. So all I needed to buy was a red onion and an avocado. Easy! Once in our local grocer I also saw a fantastic looking corn on the cob. I love it when they have all of the greenery left on them, like they’ve been pulled straight out of the field. So fresh. To accompany the corn I bought a lime as lime (instead of butter) on corn is not only healthier but so much more tasty!

Armed with my ingredients and the prawns defrosting, I set about making a simple salsa – cherry toms and red onion. Plus guacamole – avocado, lime and salt and pepper seasoning. If I had been making this dish for both me and Stew we probably would’ve gone all out with the dips and done them properly adding coriander and what not. But as it was just me, I kept it as simple as possible.

Once the prawns were defrosted I made a quick marinade comprising of just garlic, tabasco and hot sauce. If you’re not a fan of the spice you could use a sweet spicy sauce instead and not add the tabasco. Whereas I love spice and actually found the marinade still lacking so added a further few drops of hot sauce afterwards.

I also rustled up a margarita to go with it, because why not?! Although it wasn’t the traditional margarita mix as I had no crushed ice and no Cointreau. Instead I use 1 shot of tequila, 1.5 shots of lime juice, cubed ice, salt (for the rim) and topped it up with soda. It wasn’t quite a margarita and could’ve done with some sugar syrup, or Cointreau as it’s meant to. But hey ho, for a first time with limited ingredients, I think I did pretty well!

Ingredients (serves 2):

• Tabasco
• Hot sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 limes, quartered
• 12-16 small frozen (or fresh) prawns
• 2 corn on the cob
• 12 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
• Half a red onion, finely chopped
• 2 small avocados, halved with stone removed
• 2 wraps
• 2 small handfuls of iceberg lettuce, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• Nachos to serve (and to use up the rest of the dips)

Method:

1. Begin by adding a few drops of tabasco, hot sauce, garlic, juice from quarter of the lime and prawns to a bowl. Mix together and marinade for 20 minutes. Add as much or as little sauce as you wish, depending on how spicy you like your Mexican.
2. Turn the grill on to 180 degrees. Use another quarter of the lime and rub all over the corn plus add a little salt. Pop on a baking tray and grill for 15-20 minutes until charred.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and red onion, plus a little salt and pepper to a bowl and mix together.
4. Scoop out the avocado into another bowl, squirt in a quarter of the lime, add a little salt and pepper and mix together well.
5. Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add the wraps one at a time, to lightly toast on both sides. Remove from the pan and pop on a plate.
6. Add a drop of olive oil to the pan and lower the heat just slightly. Pour in the prawns and marinade and cook for 2-3 minutes until the prawns are cooked through.
7. Layer the iceberg lettuce, salsa and avocado on top of the wrap, reserving some to have with the nachos (if using).
8. Top with the prawns and marinade, and add a further squirt of lime all over, plus extra hot sauce if you like the spice! Serve with the remainder of the dips, nachos and corn. Plus a cheeky margarita!