Garlic Chilli Prawns on a Fennel & Orange Salad

Finally, the hot weather has come to Melbourne and it's the perfect season for prawns on the barbeque!The warmth and slight charred flavour of these prawns pairs well with the slightly aniseed freshness of the orange and fennel salad. It seems to have been a match made in heaven, orange and fennel, as when i was researching fennel salads the vast majority included a citrus fruit. And it does work well!

A note on fennel: i prefer raw fennel to be sliced incredibly finely, so you could use a peeler or a very good quality mandolin to get the best from your fennel. Bewarned though, it oxidizes quite quickly, so if you won't be serving the fennel very shortly after slicing it, dunk it into a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice before setting it aside.

Ingredients (Serves 3)

• 18 large prawns, shelled and deveined
• 1 tbsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp coarse salt flakes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• Fresh pepper
• 3 handfuls rocket
• 2 baby fennel / 1 large fennel
• 1 large orange
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Method

Place the prawns in a bowl with the garlic, chilli, salt, pepper and sesame oil. Mix well and leave for 10 minutes.

Heat a bbq grill to high.
Skewer the prawns and place on the bbq.

Turn when completely opaque and slightly charred on one side. Repeat on other side. (About 10 minutes; 5 on a very hot grill).

Remove from grill and set aside whilst the salad is prepared.
Finely slice the fennel
Remove the peel from the orange with a knife.

Cut the orange into thin slices

Place the rocket in a mound on each serving plate.
Layer the fennel and orange ontop of the rocket on each plate evenly
Place the olive oil, vinegar and sesame seeds in a cup and whisk to combine.

Pour the dressing over the salads.
Top with the prawns.