Saffron Prawns Splendid With Sauteed Spinach
By: Emily Heston
Published: Thursday, January 7, 2010 - 10:41am

Ingredients




1 pound prawns deveined, tails on
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon saffron threads
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 cup dry white wine
for the sauteed spinach:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound baby spinach leaves, washed and lightly patted with paper towels
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
the juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

1 For the prawns: 2 In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium high heat, add the olive oil.  Over the pan, rub the saffron threads between your fingers to break them up and allow them to sprinkle into the butter and oil. 3 Add the garlic and shallots and stir up the mixture. 4 Place the prawns into pan. 5 Let them cook on each side until they just loose their translucency, about 2 minutes per side. 6 Remove the prawns from the pan and cover with foil. 7 Pour the white wine into the pan, increase the heat to high.  Stir regularly until the sauce is reduced by about a third. 8 Sprinkle in the parsley. 9 Place prawns on a bed of pasta, rice or a risotto Milianese.  Spoon some of the sauce over the meal, sprinkle with the chives, some fresh grated parmesean and enjoy. 10 Into a large saute pan, over medium high heat, pour the olive oil. 11 Allow to heat for a couple of minutes. 12 Then add the spinach by handfuls. 13 Let the bottom level of leaves wilt a little before stiring up the pile of spinach.  Slowly toss the spinach until it is about 3/4 of the way wilted (about 3 minutes).  Sprinkle the spinach with the garlic and lemon juice and stir it up.  Cover with a lid or foil. 14 Turn off the heat and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes and up to 15. 15 If it gets too cool, you can turn up the heat and gently toss the leaves until just warm.

About


These saffron prawns are delicious served over pasta, rice or, if your "just mad about saffron" a risotto Milianese.
A splendid side for this creation is sauteed spinach (recipe included above).  It couldn't be easier to prepare.  It can sit, covered in the pan for about 15 minutes...just enough time to whip up the prawns.
When buying prawns, if fresh from the sea (no later than yesterday) isn't available, go for the frozen variety!  In bulk or a sealed bag, these will taste better that those in your local fish case.  The prawns in the majority of fish cases were frozen at sea and thawed by the fish monger.  The problem is, there is no way of knowing when they were thawed or how.   If you buy the prawns frozen you can control the thawing process.  To thaw them: place them in a bowl in the refrigerator (covered, or still in the bag) the day before you need them to allow them to slowly thaw.   If you need them more quickly, they can be put in a colandar, in the sink, a few hours before you need them and allowed to thaw.   Spray them with cold water to speed up the process and for a final rinse before preparation.   Blot them dry with paper towels before cooking.