Sauteed Prawns With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

A few days ago, we had a big lunch a bit later than the noon hour. So when the cocktail hour was over, we decided to have a light dinner of sauteed prawns with our Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. It was very tasty; the garlic, red pepper flakes and butter in which we sauteed the prawns added to the incredible flavor of the red pepper sauce creating a taste that was quite simply out of this world. We decided there and then that this appetizer had to be shared; so here it is. Appetizers for two to three people would be as follows:

Sauteed Prawns:
Prep Time:                 5 minutes
Cooking Time:           4 minutes max

INGREDIENTS:
6-9 large fresh or frozen prawns, thawed, shelled and de-veined if you prefer
1-2 pinches of red pepper flakes
1 T unsalted butter
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

PREPARATION:
1. Place butter,oil and red pepper flakes in a 10" light weight saute pan and heat over medium heat until fairly hot. Put in prawns and garlic slices and don't disturb for about 1 minute at which time the prawns should be cooked about half way through.
2. Stir the garlic and red pepper flakes around and turn the prawns over. Cook for about 1 more minute or until prawns are totally opaque.
3. Remove prawns from heat and let them cool before serving.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
This makes about a cup of sauce which is far more than you need for the prawns. The part that you don't serve should be refrigerated and used as a dip for artichokes, raw vegetables, sauteed fish or whatever. It will improve over a few days and last at least a week.

INGREDIENTS:
3/8 cup of light mayonnaise
4 oz of fire roasted red peppers, drained
1/2 t white sugar
3/8 t fine salt
1/2 t hot pepper sauce
1 T+ fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
a pinch or two of parsley or basil for garnish, chopped

PREPARATION:
1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until fairly smooth.
2. Remove from blender and mix in the chopped parsley or basil garnish.

Serving Suggestions:
1. As an appetizer, serve the sauce in a small bowl alongside the prawns as you would normally.
2. As a light meal, serve the sauce in a bowl alongside the prawns with celery sticks and green onions to be dipped also.

This is a wonderful, tasty appetizer or light meal and we hope that enjoy it as much as we do.

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita