Shared recipe · Persian
Griddled prawns with herbed Persian rice
Serves 4 · 75 min cook
Already-cooked king prawns sit in thick yoghurt, lemon and herbs, then hit a hot griddle and land on butter-steamed herb rice.
Ingredients
Starch
- 300 gBasmati rice
Marinade
- 0.5 tspBlack pepper
- 3 clovesGarlic
- 250 gGreek yoghurt
- 2Lemons
- 2 tbspOlive oil
- 1.5 tspSea salt
Protein
- 600 gCooked & peeled king prawns
Veg
- 25 gDill
- 25 gFlat-leaf parsley
- 15 gMint
Dairy
- 40 gUnsalted butter
Method
- 1Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs clear, then soak it in cold water with 1 tsp of the sea salt for 20 minutes.
- 2Grate the zest of both lemons and squeeze the juice. Crush the garlic. Finely chop the dill, flat-leaf parsley and mint.
- 3Stir 150 g of the Greek yoghurt with the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, the garlic, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, half the chopped herbs, the remaining 1/2 tsp sea salt and the black pepper. Fold in the cooked & peeled king prawns and leave for 20 minutes while the rice soaks.
- 4Bring a stockpot of water to the boil. Drain the rice and boil for 6–7 minutes until the outside is soft but the centre still has a bite, then drain.
- 5Melt 20 g of the unsalted butter in the same pot over low heat. Tip in half of the remaining herbs and the rice, dot with the other 20 g butter, cover and steam on the lowest heat for 18 minutes until fluffy.
- 6Heat a grill pan over high heat until very hot, then brush it with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Shake off the excess marinade and griddle the prawns for 60–90 seconds a side until charred in spots.
- 7Stir the remaining 100 g Greek yoghurt with the rest of the herbs and the remaining lemon juice. Taste and add a little more lemon if it needs brightness.
- 8Spoon the herbed rice onto plates, lay the prawns on top and serve the yoghurt sauce alongside.