Pimento Prawns with Apple Ginger Slaw on Johnny Cakes
These lightly griddled Johnny Cakes make a perfect base for my fresh, zingy slaw and spicy king prawns. Yum!
Method
First, make the dough for the Johnny cakes. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingertips. Make a well in the centre and gradually mix in 125ml water until you have a stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, then place in a clean bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill for 10–15 minutes.
Lightly dust the prawns with the ground pimento, a pinch each of salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper and set aside for 10 minutes, to allow the flavours to be absorbed.
Meanwhile, make the slaw. Mix together the lime juice, ginger, sugar and soy sauce in a large bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cabbage, carrot, apple, spring onions and coriander leaves and toss together. Set aside.
Preheat a griddle pan over a medium heat.
Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 4 equal pieces.
On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough into 6-cm diameter circles. Brush each with coconut oil and place on the hot griddle pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side, until each cake is lightly marked and cooked through. Keep warm while you cook the prawns.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon
of the oil, then add the garlic, ginger, red onion, red pepper, spring onions and 1 teaspoon each of black pepper and cayenne pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the orange zest and juice, dark rum, brown sugar and the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the seasoned prawns and cook for a further 5–7 minutes, until the prawns are cooked through.
To serve, place the Johnny Cakes on serving plates, top with the slaw and then the king prawns and garnish with chopped fresh coriander.
Ingredients
- 20 king prawns
- 1 tsp ground pimento
- a pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, plus an extra pinch for seasoning
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper, plus an extra pinch for seasoning
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp finely diced root ginger
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- zest and juice of 1 orange
- a splash of dark rum
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 4 tomatoes, halved and de-seeded, then diced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
- For the Johnny Cakes
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 50g butter
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- For the Apple Ginger Slaw
- juice of 2 limes
- 5-cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 tsp light muscovado sugar
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1⁄2 Chinese cabbage, sliced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into julienne
- 2 red eating apples, cored and cut into julienne
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- a handful of coriander leaves