Prawns in Tomato & Gin Sauce - Using Country Market Ribble Valley Gin

Chunks of bread needed for all that sauce

Prawns in Tomato & Gin Sauce - Using Country Market Ribble Gin

Yes, gin again!

I know i use a lot of different kinds of alcohol to cook with, gin and vodka mostly, and i’m never going to apologise for it. Both add a huge amount of flavour to cooking and getting a great company to work with to work with gives me a huge range of other ingredients to play with

 This dish is made with Ribble Gin and its all the better for it, but if you’ve not any of this, and want to use your favourite gin, remember to use one that hasn’t got an additional flavour added. So no rhubarb or raspberry gin in this recipe.

Let’s talk prawns.

i love prawns but so often , when i’m eating out, the ones that hit my table are over cooked , usually flavourless and tough, so unless you like your prawns like this, keep an eye on them when they’re cooking in the pan.

It takes one minute for the prawns to go from raw to over cooked, and if you get the opportunity to lay your hands on a bottle or two of RIbble Valley Gin…

Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life.

 Prawns in Tomato & Gin Sauce - Using Country Market Ribble Valley Gin

What You Need

• 20 -40 Large/Giant Raw Prawns /Shrimp – Frozen or fresh, Peeled and Deveined – See Tip Box 

• 6 x Tablespoons Country Market Ribble Valley Gin

• 5 Large Fresh Tomatoes – Finely Chopped

• 3 Shallots–Finely Chopped

• 3 Cloves Fresh Garlic - Finely chopped

•   2 X Tablespoons tomato puree

• Small bunch Fresh Basil – Finely Chopped

•   Small bunch of fresh Thyme – Finely chopped

•   2 Tablespoons Olive oil

•    Malden Salt – to taste

•    Fresh Ground Black Pepper – to taste

Fresh tomatoes are great in this recipe

How It’s Done

•   Heat the olive oil in a flat-bottomed, deep frying pan.

• Add the finely chopped garlic and shallots and cook on a low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the shallots are translucent and soft.

•   Add the chopped tomatoes, giving them a stir to combine the garlic & shallots. Cover the pan with a lid and let them all cook together on a low to medium heat for 5 minutes.

•   Lower the heat to low, add the Country Market Ribble Valley Gin, fresh herbs, fresh black pepper & Malden salt-to taste and mix in with the other flavours.

• Cook, covered, for another 20 minutes until the tomatoes break down into a nice juicy sauc

•    Pop the prepared prawns into the tomato mix – See Tip Box

• Let them cook on the low heat for 15/20 minutes – pushing them under the sauce. until pink and cooked all the way through.

•   When cooked, place the prawns and sauce into a serving dish and sprinkle the fresh chopped basil and thyme.

•   Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Don’t over cook the prawns

Tip Box

• Prawns- a) Preparing – I used frozen Argentinian prawns from the freezers of Aldi, but fresh prawns which have been shelled and deveined are great too.

b) If fresh prawns, don’t throw those shells away. They are great for making a fish stock or using to give flavour to a bisque. If you’re not using them straight away, seal in a freezer bag and pop into the freezer for up to three months.

c) - When putting the prawns into the pan, try to lay them flat if you can and make sure they are cooked all the way through but not so overcooked so they are tough

d) I used 40 prawns in my mix, how many you use depends on you

• Cooking – Cooking timings may vary so adjust accordingly

Soft tender prawns in an aromatic sauce