Recipe: Calabrian chili garlic prawns with lemon and toasted panko chili crumb

The Story

Cooking Together’s Calabrian chili garlic prawns are presented as a warm, flavour-focused meal designed for the shift into fall and described as suitable for back-to-school schedules.

The recipe yields one serving and is built around 12 peeled and deveined shrimp or prawns. It also uses 2 tbsp salted butter, 1 tsp minced garlic, and ½ tsp Calabrian chili paste, with salt and pepper to taste.

To finish the flavour profile, the ingredient list calls for the juice of ¼ of a lemon, 1 tsp shredded parmesan cheese, and 1 tbsp panko chili crumb. The dish also includes 4–5 cherry tomatoes, halved.

The panko chili crumb is prepared separately. It combines ½ cup panko bread crumbs with ¼ tsp Italian seasoning blend, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne and black pepper, along with 2 tbsp olive oil.

For the crumb, the recipe instructs cooks to mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and ensure they are thoroughly combined. It then calls for spreading the mixture on a sheet pan before baking.

The baking step for the panko chili crumb is described as a bake in a preheated oven at 350 F until golden brown, with the timing given as approximately 5 to 10 minutes.

To make the prawns, the instructions begin by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a medium heat frying pan. Next, cooks add 1 tsp minced garlic and ½ tsp Calabrian chili paste and cook the mixture until it becomes fragrant.

The method continues by gently adding the 12 prawns with the halved cherry tomatoes, then seasoning with salt and pepper. Cooking continues until the prawns begin to turn dark pink and the tomatoes slowly break, after which the lemon juice is added and the pan is removed from heat.