Wise About Spot Prawns

The spot prawn season runs just under two months, and it's such a treat to find them fresh and live right off the boat.

If you're unfamiliar with spot prawns and have lived most of your life on the west coast, you're not alone. The majority of this exquisite delicacy, the largest of the seven commercial species of shrimp in our waters, was exported until a consortium of fishers spearheaded by Steve Johansen had a good idea. He joined forces with chef Robert Clark and the Chef's Table Society and held a festival celebrating the seasonal crustacean. The rest is history.

While some are still exported - and why not - the majority can be enjoyed in most restaurants with an Ocean Wise mindset, or at home, purchased right off the boat or from a reliable purveyor.

A few tips: once the prawns are no longer alive, it's imperative that their heads be removed. The head contain an enzyme that begins to permeate through the tail and turns the meat mushy. The head also turns black. So if you see a collection of prawns at your local grocery store, swathed in plastic with black heads still attached, keep walking.

With that in mind, we took a dozen still kicking prawns and sauteed shallots, jalapeno and chopped tomato before adding the prawns with white wine and lemon zest, cooking them until they just turned pink. Yes kids, there's goodness in those heads too!

The rest of the prawns became headless, and were packed in salted water in tubs before being frozen for later use. (This technique of packing in salted water can be applied to any fish or seafood, from salmon filets to octopus, it prevents them from drying out).

Another batch of prawns was held back for risotto with Saanich asparagus - another seasonal item - made with a light chicken stock and shallots. No cheese here please, just the sweet lovely flavours of B.C.
For more information on B.C. seafood and sustainability issues, check out The Ocean Wise Cookbook, edited by writer Jane Mundy, and packed with recipes, tips and facts.

Here are chefs Robert Clark and Bill Jones spreading spot prawn love during the festival.

Spot On

It's May on the west coast, and that means spot prawns are in season. Held up as an icon of sustainability, the sweet crustacean, and the largest prawn fished on the coast, is a chef and home cook's darling, a cause celebre of the sea.

Last Sunday, Vancouver Island saw spots in Cowichan Bay for the annual spot prawn festival.

Home to many fisherman, farmers, artists and artisan food producers, and North America's first Cittaslow community, the historic village was a fitting venue.

While local fishers brought their daily catch to market, chefs set up stands outside of their restaurants and cooked the critters.

A luscious spot prawn quiche was one of the dishes from True Grain Bread.

Hilary Abbott of Hilary's Cheese and his chef/apprentice cheesemaker were the tag team behind skewered prawns, grilled and served on a grilled tortilla, served with mango salsa.

Robert Clark of Vancouver's C Restaurant made a guest appearance, and wowed the crowd with a creamy pea and mint soup highlighted with a cooked prawn.

Chef Bill Jones officiated at the chef's demo station, introducing and assisting not only Clark, but chefs from the surrounding area.

J. J. Skidmore of the new Terrain Regional Kitchen served up prawn gyozas and gin sauteed prawns over organic quinoa.

People came from far and wide, music played, a little Miss Spot Prawn was crowned and wacky hats were sold.

Live spot prawns were available at $8.50 a pound. Some folks bought 15 pounds at a time, others only a couple. We purchased five and set off home for our own festival. Everyone had a delectably good time.

A Quickie for the Meze Platter

Feta cheese, red peppers, a couple of garlic cloves and some great tasting olive oil is really all that's needed to throw together a quick and easy dip with Mediterranean leanings.

The biggest prep involved is roasting the peppers.

Cut them into quarters, removing the inner membrane and seeds. The shapes make them easier to achieve an even roasting.

Once evenly roasted, let them rest on the counter or in a plastic bag, making the roasted peel easier to remove.

Dry your lovely little fillets and chop into small cubes. Forget about being perfect, any little charred bits are okay, as they add a rustic element to your final product.

Crumble feta cheese into the mix along with a couple of crushed garlic cloves, some salt and finally, the tasty olive oil. Not too much, not too little, just the right amount.

Serve with slices of fresh baguette, or toast the slices for crostini - very authentic. I also recommend Triscuits for a crunchy vibe. For extra flavour flav, try adding freshly chopped basil or fresh dill to the pepper mixture. The world's your meze platter. Knock yourself out.

Dinner Redeems a Dull Day

A gloomy, overcast day and a craving for Moroccan spices. Not that the two go hand in hand, but spices are proving to be a remedy for our unusually cold spring. So in between writing research, I planned a Moroccan-inspired meal to wake up my senses and nourish my soul.

Last Friday's foray into the Saanich farmlands while hopeful with young spring greens and cucumbers, still carried evidence of winter produce. Beets are still on offer and are a tad woody used in their raw state, but baked whole offer earthy comfort.

Once cooked, cooled, peeled and quartered, they became a simple and delicious first course, stacked and sprinkled with feta cheese, mint, salt and a grassy Greek olive oil.

Mitchell Farms is carrying flowering cabbage tops gleaned from their vast acreage of winter's cabbage, and savoy cabbage tops seemed to fit the bill. Likened to rapini but sturdier, I blanched them first and applied nothing more than that olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Second course, done.

For the main event, I cut up three lamb shoulder chops and marinated them in ground cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, garlic and lemon. After six hours or so, I sauteed the lamb pieces in a deep casserole dish with onions, more garlic, cumin and cinnamon, added a couple of bay leaves, a few raisins, a reduced tomato sauce - I had on hand - and simmered the stew for a couple of hours.

This dish was totally on the fly, incorporating what I had in the house, plus a few leftovers, and it's a dish that could have many variations: preserved lemons, roasted red peppers, apricots, chicken standing in for lamb, etc.

I served the resulting stew with smashed chickpeas. I took a regular can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and heated them in a bit of water. Meanwhile, I sauteed some minced onions and sliced garlic in olive oil and once they were soft, added the warmed chickpeas, stirring to combine. I mashed them roughly and added more olive oil to make the mixture just a tad smoother, then a couple of dashes of hot paprika and lemon juice. The chickpeas were added to the top of the stew just before serving. A little Moroccan in flavour, a little Greek and a little local and a whole lot of delicious. The perfect remedy for a cold gloomy day.