If our vegie garden was doing a bit better this summer, the tomatoes would have come from the garden. Unfortunately the hot weather has really given it a beating, so the tomato plants have been suffering. A quick stop at the local fruit and vegetable shop and I had a punnet of beautiful mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes to use. Yellow, red and purple, they looked and tasted delicious! Nothing beats the flavour of fresh produce that actually tastes how it is meant to.
This recipe was based on one in the February edition of Gourmet Traveller magazine. I used a different dressing, as I had some left over from the beautiful fig and goat's curd salad I made on Valentine's Day. I also didn't have access to shiso leaves, so used mint and coriander instead.The flavours were fresh and the corn amazingly sweet.
If you don't like prawns, then you could easily serve the salad with fish, chicken or even lamb or beef. For a vegetarian version, the sweet corn and juicy tomato would also match perfectly with fried haloumi slices. In fact, I think this might be my next version. Salty, sweet and fresh all in one dish!
Prawn, Chargrilled Corn and Tomato Salad
1 shallot, finely diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
A pinch of caster sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 corn cobs, husk removed
A drizzle of olive oil
1 punnet of mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
2 spring onions, ends trimmed and cut into thin slices
A handful of fresh mint leaves
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
12 prawns, shells removed but tails left on
To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine. Season to taste.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the corn cobs. Bring the water back to the boil, then turn the heat off.
Drain the corn and set aside.
Heat a chargrill pan or the BBQ over medium heat.
Drizzle corn cobs with oil and cook for 5 minutes, turning regularly, so that you get grill marks on the flesh.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
When cool enough to handle, stand the cobs on their end and remove the kernels with a sharp knife.
Place the corn in a bowl with the tomatoes, spring onion, mint and coriander.
Toss the salad with enough of the dressing to ensure it is well coated and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a clean pan, heat a another drizzle of oil until hot and fry prawns for about a minute on each side, or until the flesh has turned slightly pink and opaque.
Quickly toss the cooked prawns through the salad and serve on a platter for everyone to help themselves.
And To Drink....
I was introduced to the amazing range of Vinaceous wines at a recent Fabulous Ladies Wine Society dinner held in Melbourne. This winery from Margaret River in Western Australia makes beautiful wines with quirky labels that are a bit of fun. Mr Vinaceous, Nick Stacy, has created a range of wines featuring himself as a ringmaster of sorts, with images of ex-girlfriends as the main act. His father, a big influence in his life is on the labels of the red wines. Names such as Sirenya (pinot gris), Shakre (chardonnay), Salome (tempranillo rose), Raconteur (cabernet) and Red Right Hand (shiraz grenache tempranillo) also add mystery and intrigue.
I was most impressed with his chardonnay and tempranillo rose, but particularly liked this pinot gris for a light, fragrant white to have in the warmer weather.
The fruit from this wine came from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia and has plenty of passionfruit, apple and apricot, without being overpowering. It is clean and crisp with fine acidity and minerality.
The Vinaceous pinot gris matched perfectly with the sweetness of the prawns and the corn and the acidity of the tomatoes. While the pinot gris is a lovely food wine, it would also be gorgeous on a warm day, sitting out in the sun with some smoked salmon, fresh bread and good friends!
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