Allan and I are very happy customers of Share Organics; I love that you can change/add to your order as much or as little as you want.

A Bag of Prawns

A couple weeks ago spot prawns were on special (local, net caught, in season), so I ordered a package. They came frozen into a solid block of ice in a zip lock bag, a little different from the individually frozen prawns you get at the store. I thawed them out a few days later and found a ton of roe on their undersides.
At first I was completely grossed out and felt nauseous (funny that I’m so separated from food production that I expect it to come clean and pristine). After a while I got used to it and didn’t so much mind ripping the roe off with the shells; I threw the shells and roe away. Later, I felt bad for throwing away completely useful food. So I ordered a second bag so that I could do justice to all parts of the prawn.

Recipe! Super Yummy Soup

This bag didn’t have nearly as much roe, but that was okay: I would just include it in the stock.
Ingredients:

1 lb spot prawns
2 tbsp of olive oil (not extra virgin)
2 tsp of sea salt
10 whole peppercorns
1 red onion (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (chopped) – I usually use a ton of garlic in recipes, but I wanted the other flavours to stand out more
2 carrots (chopped)
6 cups water
8-10 new red potatoes, whole
2 tbsp butter
sea salt to taste

Thaw and peel the prawns, place the meat in an iced bowl the shells and roe in another. Put the prawns in the fridge for later.
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat, and add the salt, pepper, onion, garlic and carrots
Let the onions soften (2-5 minutes) and add the shells and roe. Stir regularly until the the shells become fragrant (about 15 minutes).
Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for an hour.
Be VERY careful with the following; you are working with very hot soup:
Remove the pot from the stove. With a slotted spoon, transfer 2 spoonfuls of the solids to a blender and ladle about a cup of liquid over top; you only want the blender half full including the liquid, otherwise the soup may explode the top off (exciting, I know, but very messy and dangerous). Blend on low until the mixture becomes smooth; strain into a large bowl, pressing the remaining solids with a spatula or spoon; place solids to the side in another bowl. Repeat this process until you have used up all the solids.
Transfer the strained solids back into the blender and cover with 1 to 1.5 cups of the remaining stock (if there isn’t enough left, use water); blend and strain as above. Now you should have all the flavour out of those shells.
Pour the strained stock back into the pot, add salt to taste, bring to a simmer and add potatoes. When the potatoes can be punctured easily with a fork, add butter.
Serve!

My Dinner

First: appetizer plate with Salt Spring Island goat cheese, Spanish Manchego, dolmades, olives, and my dad’s organic garlic (roasted), with whole grain rice and seed crackers.
Second: soup with chopped basil garnish
Main: Those super tasty, melt in your mouth, naturally sweet prawns tossed/fried in butter; warm lentil and roast beet salad with shallots and hazelnuts; butter fried beet greens.