After gorging yourself at Christmas, Alan Brown suggests light courses, festive cocktails, and fruit desserts to see the new year in. In his recipe the smoky flavour of the prawns is softened by a cauliflower topping. For more flavour, puree roasted capsicum and smoked paprika into a mayonnaise as a topping. "It's a tasty, light dish which can be prepared in advance," Brown says. "The prawns can easily be replaced by salmon or scallops." Make a smoker with a roasting pan, cake rack and a lid. Add cinnamon and lemon zest to the woodchips and smoke for about five minutes. To wash it down Brown recommends a Sauvignon Semillion or a Pinot Gris. Alternatively you could have a classical cocktail, the Kier Royale, by adding cassis (blackcurrant) to champagne.
Ingredients
| 4 cups | Water |
| 1 handful | Prawn (Main) |
| ½ cup | Sugar |
| ½ cup | Sea salt |
| 1 | Potato, grated |
| 1 | Kumara, grated |
| 1 | Egg |
| 1 | Onion, finely chopped |
| 1 Tbsp | Fresh coriander, chopped |
| 1 Tbsp | Flour |
| 1 to taste | Salt & freshly ground pepper |
Directions
- Make a brine for the prawns by boiling the water, sugar, and sea salt. If you want, add flavouring - cloves, peppercorns, dried chilli, or allspice berries. simmer for 10 minutes.
- Soak prawns in the brine for 20 minutes.
- Remove and wash under cold water. Dry.
- Smoke prawns with wood chip until cooked through.
- To make the latkes mix the potato, kumara, egg, onion, coriander, flour, and seasoning.
- Make spoonful-sized fritters in hot oil, turning once, until cooked. Drain.
- Blanch half a cauliflower in boiling water. Sweat in butter until tender.
- Add a little milk and cream, before pureeing in a food processor.
