Spiced
White Prawns with Avocado Soup and Tomato Consommé
By Executive Chef James Waller,
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, Monterey, CA
Chef
Participant: Cooking for Solutions
Conference 2006
Serves:
12
Spiced White Prawns
Ingredients:
(makes 3 shrimp per person)
1 Roma Tomato
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 tbls. Garlic (minced)
1 tbls. Shallot (minced)
1 cup Cilantro (minced)
10 Limes (squeezed)
2 Lemons (squeezed)
1 oz. Tequila
1/4 cup Olive Oil
TT Salt and White Pepper
1 pinch Sugar
Procedures:
1. Wash peeled and de-veined shrimp and let
dry.
2. Skewer shrimp from the tail end, making
a sate, and dust with seasonings. Set aside for about an hour.
Avocado Soup
Ingredients:
(makes 1 quart)
3 Avocado (California Hass, peeled)
2 cup Vegetable Broth (made with organic ingredients)
4 tbls. Lime Juice
4 bunches Cilantro (picked leaves only)
4 oz. Shallots (chopped and roasted)
TT Kosher Salt and Black Pepper (freshly ground)
Procedure:
Place cilantro, shallots, vegetable broth and lime juice in
a blender. Once cilantro is finely chopped, place avocado into
the blender and blend till smooth. Season to taste.
Tomato Consommé
Ingredients:
(makes 1 quart)
4 packs Organic Red Cluster Tomatoes
6 Egg (whites)
1/2 tspn. Sea Salt
1/2 tspn. Black Pepper (freshly ground)
3 tspn. Hungarian Paprika
3 Gelatin Sheets (soaked in icy-cold water)
1 Mango (diced and roasted)
Procedures:
1. Place tomatoes in a blender and blend until
smooth. Then place tomatoes in a separate bowl and fold in egg
whites. Add salt, black pepper and paprika and place in a heavy
pot; bring to a simmer very slowly. Move mixture slightly without
stirring too much so egg whites do not stick to the bottom as
mixture heats up. Once soup is hot, the egg whites form a "raft"
which picks up all ingredients, leaving the consommé
clear. Poke a hole in the middle or on the side of the "raft"
so the consommé breathes. This hole serves as the place
where the consommé simmers. This process takes about
45 minutes, possibly 1 hour, so be patient. Then simmer very
slowly for about 20 minutes.
2. Turn off heat and remove broth from the
hole and strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Keeping
it warm place 2 cups of consommé into a separate bowl
and add gelatin, melting thoroughly. Then place this mixture
back into the larger batch and stir well. Season to taste and
chill.
To Serve:
Grill shrimp in a hot sauté pan or on a grill. Remove
skewers and keep shrimp warm. Place 3 ounces of the tomato consommé
and 3 ounces of the avocado soup into a wide glass so the tomato
soup is the bottom layer and the avocado soup is on top. Place
3 shrimp over soups and garnish with roasted mango and some
fresh cilantro or a lime slice.
*Seafood Watch recommends trap-caught spot prawns from British
Columbia.