This delicious recipe for creamy garlic prawns is quick and easy. Serve over pasta, rice or with crusty artisan bread. Leftovers are amazing cold with avocado.
Why Creamy Garlic Prawns Are Better than Shrimp
When making creamy garlic prawns, you can substitute shrimp. But for just a few dollars more, you can have prawns. Because prawns are considerably larger, they cook differently. It’s very easy to overcook shrimp, which is what makes them taste rubbery. Because prawns are larger, they are more forgiving. The real reason to use prawns, though, is that they have a sweeter taste. When this sweet meat is sauteed in the garlic and butter sauce, you get an amazing taste on your dinner plate. It’s not always easy to find fresh prawns, and when you do, they won’t be inexpensive. Keep in mind that comparing the price of fresh prawns to frozen shrimp is like comparing a hamburger to filet mignon. How much would you pay for a prime steak or a good bottle of wine? Indulge, my friends. You are worth it.
An Easy Hack to Make the Sauce Creamy and Delicious
If you love buttery clams or prawns in restaurants, you may have wondered how they get the sauce so thick that it tastes creamy. The key is to reduce the sauce.
Top chefs cook the prawns in the butter sauce to give the sauce that beautiful prawn flavor, and then pull the prawns out when they are cooked. Only then do they simmer the sauce until it’s reduced. The problem for home chefs is that it’s too easy to overcook the prawns while reducing the sauce. This will ruin the prawns as quickly as if you’d overcooked a Kobe steak. I learned a hack from my Cajun friend, Fay Broussard, to put the shells into the sauce.
When I make creamy garlic prawns, I start the sauce before I clean and devein the prawns. After browning the garlic in a combination of olive oil and butter, I add the other ingredients. As I remove the shells from the prawns, I add a few rinsed shells to the butter sauce. I can usually time it to finish cleaning the prawns about the same time that the butter sauce is reduced. Put water on for pasta if you’re serving it over pasta. But don’t put the prawns in the garlic butter sauce until after the pasta is in the water.
What to Do with Leftover Prawns
When I make this, I usually double the recipe. Although prawns taste best fresh, I love how the flavor develops in the prawns overnight. The next day, I cut the prawns into bite-sized pieces and mix it with chunks of avocado, a little mayonnaise and a dash of Dijon mustard. You can also make some fresh pasta and have a quick dinner with the leftover prawns and butter sauce.
Wine Pairing for Creamy Garlic Prawns
The lemon in the wine sauce screams for an acidic wine. You can pair this with an everyday Sauvignon Blanc but I think it’s heaven with a White Bordeaux (or Bordeaux Blanc as the French say). The White Bordeaux is typically a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that is aged in oak. The oak aging gives it a richness. When consumed young, you also get the fresh acidity from the Sauvignon Blanc.
The best wine pairings with the garlic and butter prawns are:
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Grigio
- White Bordeaux
If you only drink red wine, choose an acidic wine with a light body that won’t overwhelm the flavor of the prawns. A few options are:
- Pinot Noir
- Chianti
- Beaujolais Nouveau
Creamy Garlic Prawns
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. prawns shelled and deveined
- ⅓ cup butter
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 lemons juice and zest
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley minced
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 lb. linguini or spaghetti cooked al dente
Instructions
- Combine olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic until soft. Add crushed red pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add lemon, zest and wine. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half.
- Clean and devein the prawns. After washing the shells, add a few shells to the butter sauce.
- Add pasta to boiling salted water. Cook al dente according to package directions.
- Remove shells from butter mixture and discard. Add parsley and then prawns. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until meat turns opaque. If you have a pan full of prawns, stir occasionally so they cook evenly. Pay attention and do not overcook!
- Spoon sauce over pasta. Arrange prawns on top of pasta. The creamy garlic prawns can also be served in a soup bowl with a side of hearty bread. The bread is incredible dipped into the buttery sauce.
- Pair the Creamy Garlic Prawns with a Sauvignon Blanc or White Bordeaux.
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