PRAWN TACOS WITH AVOCADO CREAM, CORN AND MANGO SALSA, PICKLED RED ONION AND QUINOA AND WILD RICE SALAD
We love Mexican flavours, so we often have Mexican or Tex Mex dinners. This is a delicious dinner but it does have a number of steps so it takes a little bit of time to prepare. However, much of it can be prepared in advance, so at dinner time all you need to do is cook the Prawns and heat the Tortillas.
I have used inspiration from a couple of sources, the basis of the taco’s and the salad is from the cookbook Mexican Craving by Ben Milbourne (I have changed it slightly, so am giving the recipe that I did), but the batter I used for the prawns is from the Gluten Free cookery course I did with Maggie Lynch as I wanted the dinner to be Gluten Free. The Pickled Red Onions, I just always do like this, so I am not sure where I originally learnt it.
INGREDIENTS for the various components:
- Corn Tortillas – warmed in a frypan and kept warm until needed.
QUINOA AND BLACK RICE SALAD
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 1 cup Black Rice
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 punnet Cherry Tomatoes – halved
- 1 bunch Spring Onions – sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped Mint
- 1/2 cup chopped Flat Leaf Parsely
- 1/2 cup chopped Coriander
- juice of 2 Limes
- juice of 1 Orange
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Green Chillis, deseeded and diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
- Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Cook the Quinoa and Black Rice separately (cook as you would normally do). Leave them to cool down.
Make the Citrus Dressing by adding the Lime and Orange juice, the EVOO, Green Chilli, Garlic and Salt and Pepper to a screw top jar and shake well.
Toss the Quinoa and Black Rice together with the other ingredients and dress with the Citrus Dressing.
This salad keeps really well and makes a super tasty lunch the next day.
I also cook extra Quinoa and Black Rice so I have some for other dishes, they keep well in the fridge for a day or two, and also freeze well for easy preparation for another time.
CORN AND MANGO SALSA
- 1 tablespoon Ghee
- 1 1/2 cups Corn Kernels
- 1 Mango, diced
- 1 cup Coriander Leaves
Melt the Ghee in a frypan and add the Corn Kernels. Saute until they are slightly brown in places. Allow to cool then add the Mango and the Coriander Leaves.
This is a delicious Salsa which would go well with so many things. It is also delicious the next day, if there is any left!!
AVOCADO PUREE
- 1 tablespoon Creme Fraiche – (or Coconut Yoghurt to make it Dairy Free)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 2 ripe Avocados
- Juice of 1 Lime
- Sea Salt to taste
Place all ingredients into a blender/food processor and process until smooth.
PICKLED RED ONIONS
- 4 Red Onions, sliced on a mandoline nice and finely
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sea Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
Pour hot water over the sliced Red Onions and leave for 5 minutes.
Mix the other ingredients together and pour over the drained Red Onions, making sure they are well covered.
Ideally this is made well in advance so the flavours get a chance to develop. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days (although the oil solidifies, but this quickly melts again).
PRAWNS IN GLUTEN FREE BATTER
- 6 tablespoons of Gram Flour
- 4 tablespoons of Brown Rice Flour
- 1/8 teaspoon Tumeric
- 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Onion Seeds
- Sparkling Water
- Squeeze of Lemon Juice
- Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper
- Fresh peeled prawns
- Vegetable oil for frying
Place all the dried ingredients into a bowl and add the sparkling water to make a thick batter. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Let it sit for a little while.
Heat the Vegetable Oil. Place the prawns into the batter and fry (in batches) quickly until they are nicely browned and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper whilst cooking the other batches of prawns.
Now all you have to do is assemble your Tacos.
In your heated Tortilla, place some Avocado Cream, some Prawns, some Salsa and some Pickled Onions. We ate the salad on the side, but you could always put some in the Taco if you wanted. Enjoy !!!!
