Garlic prawns with lemon and parsley

Serves - 4 as a light main or generous starter

You’ll need

• 500g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced or finely chopped
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced, optional
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 25g butter
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

To serve

• Crusty bread, rice, or a simple green salad
• Lemon wedges

Method

1. Prepare the prawns

Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper and season lightly with salt and black pepper.

2. Start the pan

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli if using, and cook gently for 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.

Do not let the garlic colour too much. Golden is one thing. Bitter and burnt is another entirely.

3. Cook the prawns

Turn the heat up slightly and add the prawns. Cook for 1–2 minutes on one side, then turn them over and cook for another 1–2 minutes until pink, opaque, and just cooked through.

4. Finish properly

Add the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice, then swirl the pan gently so everything comes together into a glossy, light sauce.

Stir through most of the parsley and check the seasoning.

5. Serve

Spoon the prawns and all the pan juices onto a platter or straight onto plates. Scatter over the remaining parsley and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

A couple of helpful notes

- Crusty bread is a very sensible choice here, because the garlicky lemon juices are far too good to leave behind.
- A splash of dry white wine added just before the lemon would do very nice things if you want to make it feel slightly more dinner-party.
- Do not overcook the prawns. That is the whole game.