Garlic & Chilli Key West Shrimp on Toast by Andy Bates

Ingredients

• 6-8 large Key West Shrimp – shell on
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 red chilli, halved lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

For the stock

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• Shrimp shells
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic- crushed
• 1 stalk of lemongrass- bruised and roughly chopped
• 200ml coconut milk
• 400ml chicken stock
• Light soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• Half a lime
• Salt and white pepper

For the salsa

• Half a ripe mango, cut into ½cm dice
• Half a red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• Juice and zest of half a lime
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the crushed avocado

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tablespoon soured cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
• Juice and zest of half a lime
• 2 slices of sourdough bread cut from a small oval loaf

Method

To prepare the prawns

1. Remove the shells and devein the shrimp, keep the shells to use in the stock.
2. Put the prawns, garlic, chilli and olive oil into a bowl, cover and marinate in the refrigerator until needed.

To make the stock

1. Heat the olive oil in the casserole on a low to medium heat, add the prawn shells, onion, garlic, ginger and lemon grass then fry gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and reduce by half, then add the coconut milk season with half a teaspoon of soy sauce, teaspoon of fish sauce, squeeze of lime and salt and white pepper.
3. Strain the stock into a saucepan until needed and discard the shells and vegetables.

To make the salsa

1. In a bowl mix the mango, red onion, basil, chilli, lime juice and zest, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To prepare the crushed avocado

1. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and then the flesh. Roughly chop the flesh, put in a bowl along with the soured cream, coriander and juice and zest of half a lime. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place a layer of cling-film directly onto the avocado mixture, this will prevent the avocado from turning brown, and refrigerate until needed.

To cook and assemble

1. Gently heat the stock in a small saucepan.
2. Heat a griddle/frying pan on a medium heat setting; meanwhile brush the sourdough slices with a little olive oil and toast . Remove and spread one side of each slice with crushed avocado and place on a stoneware serving platter until needed.
3. Add the shrimp to the hot griddle and cook for 3 minutes on each side. For the final 30 seconds, turn down the heat and pour in the remaining marinade of chilli, garlic and olive oil.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Carefully place the shrimp on top of each slice of avocado toast and spoon over the pan juices.
5. Spoon the mango salsa around the toast, then drizzle with stock.

Cook’s Notes

• You can peel the prawns and make the stock and salsa the day before and refrigerate until needed.
• Take care not to burn the garlic when cooking or it will taste bitter.
• Any leftover stock can be frozen for up to two months.