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.