Xmas Recipe : American Prawns

 

In the United States you can eat many varieties of shellfish, being common in fish restaurants the Maine lobsters , scallops , oysters , crabs and shrimps, amongst many others .

Despite what europeans use to think about United States' food, the true is that in US you can eat very well in restaurants and at homes. In fact Americans are obsessed with everything that has to do with the recipes and it is not surprising that after the Spaniards the Americans are who visit more " Media Hora para Cocinar " even though only a small part of this website is written in English. And not because there are many hispanics in that country, because the american visitors methodically translate each recipe to english mainly using Google automatic translator , as  is reflected in the statistics.

This recipe I present is the typical way to cook prawns. It is very convenient for the holidays' meals because it is recommend to cook the stew the day before to allow the flavors to strengthen along the night. Besides, we would have the given day for free about kitchen, as it should be.

Ingredients (6 people )

1.5 Kg / 3.31 Lb of fresh or frozen prawns

3 large red onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 cup cognac or brandy

5 cups of white wine, preferably dry

200 grams / 7 oz of tomato paste

Sweet or hot paprika (to taste)

White wheat flour

salt

pepper

Oil

Cut the long antennae of prawns , wash them and put it in a large pan with a generous squirt of oil. Stir with care not to break up until they take a little red colour.

In a separate saucepan incorporate the wine and heat it to a simmer.

The original recipe says that we should then add the cognac and flambé , but this has always seemed dangerous to me because there is serious danger to burn the  kitchen if you're not going with extreme care . You can dan you do it , but my recommendation is to leave it done until the cognac is halved .

When this happens , we remove the prawns. In the same pan incorporate onions and grated garlic cloves. When they are fried add the tomato paste and salt and pepper.

When the sauce is colored we add the tempered wine, stir well and then introduce again the prawns with a teaspoon of salt and red pepper ( or cayenne pepper, as strong as you wish) .

Fire 's down to a minimum and cover the pan . Must remain so for at least two hours. Slowly the  deep red of the prawns and tomato paste turns dark brown while the sauce thickens .

After that time remove from the heat and let stand overnight in refrigerator if the temperature of the house is high or at room temperature in a cool place to allow the stew to take the precise texture.

Recommendation : prepare a good loaf of bread because the sauce is addictive and also serve the prawns with the usual drink you take with meat stews cause the consistency is similar. Enjoy !