Prawns Peri Peri Mozambique Recipes

MOZAMBICAN PERI-PERI PRAWNS

Steps:

• Wash the prawns/shrimps and pat dry. Cut open the backs and remove the dark vein. Kitchen scissors work best. Do not remove the shells. Then cut down gently and slightly butterfly the prawns.
• The oil: start the day before, which is best. (Even the week before!)
• You may need to remove seeds from the dried peppers, and then chop them up. Regulate the heat by using more or less!
• Heat the oil gently, do not boil. Use groundnut or sunflower oil, not olive.
• Add all the other ingredients except the prawns. Don't boil. Take off heat, cool, and save in a clean bottle.
• Steep as long as you have time. The oil should colour to a pleasant reddish colour.
• To cook, either put the prepared prawns in a large bowl, add the oil, stir well, and let marinade for 30 minutes up to 3 hours, in the fridge.
• Bake or grill in a hot oven -- 350 deg F/180 deg C, or use your oven grill. Do NOT overcook: they turn pink when done.
• Scoop up with a slotted spoon so the oil drips off, and you can also briefly drain them on scrunched-up kitchen paper.
• Serve in a heap on a hot platter -- with plenty of wet cloths for hands and dipping bowls for fingers! Usually served with rice and some kind of fresh bread. This is not a dish for dainty eating. Use your hands.
• Immensely popular in Maputo, where most of us will find out way to the famous old Costa do Sol restaurant on the sea, a few kilometres up north from Maputo, and order peri-peri prawns -- !

PRAWNS PERI-PERI

Steps:

• PERI-PERI SAUCE
• Mix the ingredients together in a bottle and shake well. You can make the sauce ahead and store it in the fridge; the flavour improves with age, reaching its peak at two weeks.
• Slit prawns down their backs and devein. Leave heads on, or remove them if you prefer. Depending on the size of your frying pan, cook them in one or two batches.
• Heat the butter gently and add the garlic and lemon juice. Don't let the garlic burn. Add prawns and peri-peri sauce. (Shake first to make sure you get some of the chilli and garlic as well.)
• Sizzle for 4-5 minutes, turning frequently, until cooked. Season with salt and pepper and tip into a warm serving bowl. Garnish, if you wish, with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with rice or bread and butter.

MOZAMBICAN PERI-PERI SAUCE FOR SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS

Steps:

• First method: simply whisk all ingredients together, and leave to infuse.
• Second method: put in a blender, and process until smooth.
• This is enough for one dip bowl, or you can use it in a pan, and then fry a huge amount of large shrimps in it, stirring, just until they turn pinkish and curl up. (I mean: cleaned but unpeeled prawns).
• If you are worried about the heat of the sauce, simply fry your shrimps, and serve the peri-peri-sauce on the side.
• This sauce wll also keep for months in the fridge.

PRAWNS PERI-PERI

Steps:

• PERI-PERI SAUCE.
• **Mix the ingredients together in a bottle and shake well. You can make the sauce ahead and store it in the fridge; the flavour improves with age, reaching its peak at two weeks.**.
• Slit prawns down their backs and devein.
• Leave heads on, or remove them if you prefer.
• Depending on the size of your frying pan, cook them in one or two batches.
• Heat the butter gently and add the garlic and lemon juice.
• Don't let the garlic burn.
• Add prawns and peri-peri sauce. (Shake first to make sure you get some of the chilli and garlic as well.).
• Sizzle for 4-5 minutes, turning frequently, until cooked.
• Season with salt and pepper and tip into a warm serving bowl.
• Garnish, if you wish, with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with rice or bread and butter.