Stuffed Prawns

After a week of being under the weather, I finally felt like getting back into the kitchen and trying my hand at cooking again. We deserved a decent dinner so I splurged on some large prawns and tried out a recipe I've had on hand for months - stuffed prawns.

The preparation of the prawns themselves is somewhat time consuming as they have to be shelled and deveined(one of my least favorite things to do.) Once this is accomplished however, the rest is fairly easy. I prepared all of the stuffing ingredients in advance, including making homemade breadcrumbs. This involved putting four slices of white bread into the food processors, giving it a few pulses then baking the crumbs at 375 degrees on a cookie sheet for approximately 8 minutes, until nice and golden brown.

The prawns were delicious and the side dishes of rice pilaf and spinach with a glass of nice dry, white wine made me glad I felt like eating again!Stuffed Prawns

1 lb. extra large prawns (14-16 per lb.)

fresh breadcrumbs (made from 4 slices of white bread)

1/3 cup clam juice

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the prawns by shelling, deveining and cutting a 1 inch slit entirely through the prawn. Set aside. Prepare the stuffing by mixing all the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until it comes together in a moist mixture. You may need a little more clam juice to bind everything together.

Press approximately 1 Tbsp of stuffing into each prawn. Bake on a covered baking sheet at 275 deg. for 20-25 minutes. When finished baking set the broiler and place sheet under the broiler until stuffing turns golden brown.