This is a dish that I would not hesitate to serve for Christmas or any celebration, since it has all the comfort of spooning, the festive flavor of seafood and almost everything can be prepared in advance to avoid the usual last-minute parrage. Like all stews, it will even be tastier after spending a night in the fridge and heating up again. It is important to put the raw prawns just in time to serve them, because that way we will get that fantastic honeyed texture that they have when the protein has not completely coagulated.
If everyone who eats lentils does not eat prawns -in case you have a vegetarian, vegan, allergic to shellfish or something similar at the table-, separate their portion almost at the end and add half of the American sauce at that moment: you can serve their lentils with a good dollop of labneh or Greek yogurt, and season them with paprika, curry powder, za’atar or your favorite spices. From that moment it is more important to stir the pot making small gentle turns instead of putting the ladle, since the lentils are already made and are easier to break, although the beluga variety is not the most delicate (in terms of break, in the taste they are pure finesse).
I prepared this dish after getting some prawns from Palamós at a very good price at La Boquería, but if you don’t have prawns on hand you can make it with prawns from as close as you can afford (it can also be prepared with thawed product). If you have it easier to get galleys, the part of removing the meat will be more complicated and there will be less, but the sauce will be delicious and abundant. With crabs you will only get the concentrated broth and no meat, but its flavor will be spectacular, so I wouldn’t hesitate to give it a try.
I used pumpkin because I love to find its flavor and texture among the lentils, especially if it is previously browned, but instead you could have carrot, turnip, potato, sweet potato, artichoke or any other vegetable you like in combination with the prawns.
Difficulty
That of not eating a quintal.
Ingredients
For 6/8 people
- 500 g of lentils of the year (I used the caviar or beluga variety)
- 1 large or 2 small onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 pear tomatoes (or 300 g of chopped tomato or 150 of fried tomato)
- 24 medium prawns (they can be prawns)
- 100 ml of white wine (optional)
- The white part of a leek
- 400g pumpkin
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 lemon (optional)
- parsley to taste
Preparation
- Peel the prawns and remove their heads. Remove the intestines from the bodies, cut them in half lengthwise and reserve in the cold area of the fridge in a closed container and covered with a damp kitchen paper or baking paper.
- Sauté the bodies and heads of the prawns in a saucepan over high heat with oil and a little salt, crushing the heads to release their coral and other juices. Add 100 ml of white wine and let it evaporate for a couple of minutes.
- Add 300 ml of water; when it boils, lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. After this time, strain this short broth through a Chinese strainer or a normal fine-mesh strainer, squeezing to extract as much juice as possible from the prawns: at the end we will have about 250 ml of a broth with an intense prawn flavor. Reserve cold.
- While the prawn broth is boiling, fry the peeled and chopped onion over medium heat with a drizzle of oil. When it begins to brown, add the pumpkin without skin and cut into cubes and the clean leek, without the outer layers and in slices. Stir every bit so they don’t burn.
- When the pumpkin and leek take on a little color, add the peeled and minced garlic. Stir for two minutes and add the grated tomato (without the skin). Let it fry for four or five minutes (if we use already fried tomato, go to the next step).
- Add approximately two liters of water at room temperature, the washed lentils, half of the shrimp juice and salt. Bring to a boil for about 50 minutes in total -depending on the variety and the hardness of the water- over medium-low heat and uncovered, watching after 25 minutes in case you have to add some liquid.
- When they are ready, distribute them among very hot plates, distribute the half prawns on top so that they cook a little with the residual heat, finish off with the rest of the prawn juice, parsley, pepper and -if you like- lemon zest. Serve, and eat.
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