Tomato and Garlic Stew with Prawns
By Jamie | January 15th, 2012
in Recipes
The holidays came and went in a flash this year, despite the fact that Vance and I managed to amass over 7,000 miles in our travels. We spent a week in Florida with my parents (that sounds so exotic now!) to celebrate Christmas and my (early) birthday, followed by a week with Vance’s parents out in Colorado. From a warm, windy ride on a boat in the Keys to a traipse through freshly fallen snow in Pueblo, we experienced the full gamut of winter weather possibilities in the span of a fortnight.
I think this may be the first year when I can say I preferred the former. As insane as it seems to wear shorts on Christmas, surrounded by palm trees and orange groves, it felt good to thaw out for a week. Back in Durham now, my shivering muscles are perpetually sore (does that count as a workout?), and I find myself whining to Vance at least once a day about how I’m cold to my bones!
Alas, the grass is always greener.
To be fair, it is beautiful here now, quiet and picturesque, and (best of all I think) it’s perfectly acceptable to curl up in front of the fire with a good book any night of the week. (Currently finishing up Julia Child’s My Life in France, in case you were wondering).
Photo from Donna Hay
The market has narrowed its offerings down to a short list of meats, hearty greens, and root vegetables, but with that comes the excuse to cook simple, easy one-pot meals like this Tomato and Garlic Stew with Prawns.
What makes this stew even easier is when someone else makes it, which Vance heroically did after a full day of me feeling as if I’d been backed over by a Mack truck full of canned tuna. Nothing better than a heating pad, a dog, and a husband who can cook to cheer me up on a day like today.
Tomato and Garlic Stew with Prawns
I found this recipe in Donna Hay’s beautiful “pantry” cookbook, Off the Shelf, which I unearthed from the bottom of a stack of cookbooks at Nice Price in Durham. Serve it with a nice, crusty bread and a glass of crisp, shellfish-friendly wine.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup (250ml) white wine
- 2 cups (500ml) vegetable or fish stock
- 1kg raw prawns (shrimp), peeled, veins removed, tails intact
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
Preparation
Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until soft and golden. Add the tomatoes and crush with a fork. Add the wine and stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened slightly.
Add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes or until they have turned pink. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Spoon into bowls. Serve with crusty bread.
