Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 2-4 minutes Makes: 4 servings
For the remoulade sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp finely chopped sweet mixed pickles
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1 small garlic, minced
? hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco, to taste
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp Cajun spice
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
For the prawns and sandwich
20 large (as you can get) spot prawns, or large shrimp
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 to 1 tsp Cajun spice, or to taste (see Note)
4 leaves of leaf lettuce
8 tomatoes slices
8 red onion slices
4 large crusty-on-the-outside, soft-in-the-middle buns, split and warmed
Carefully peel each prawn. Use a small paring knife to make a lengthwise slit along the back of each prawn. Pull out, or rinse out with cold water, any dark vein material. Pat prawns dry and set in a bowl.
Preheat your barbecue to medium-high. Toss the prawns with the oil and Cajun spice.
Set the prawns directly on the grill. Grill 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until just cooked through.
Spread the buns generously with the remoulade. Top bottom buns with lettuce, tomato and onion. Set on the prawns and top buns and serve.
Note: Cajun spice is sold in the bottled spice and herb aisle of most supermarkets. It often contains salt, which is why no salt was sprinkled on the prawns before cooking.
GRILLED PITA PIZZA WITH CLAMS AND BACON
This clam-rich pizza is accented with a creamy sauce, bacon and cheese. If serving as a main course, pair it with a green or caesar salad.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: About 18 minutes
Makes: 6 servings as appetizer; 3 to 4 servings as main course
1 1/2 lbs fresh manila or other clams
1/3 cup white wine
1 medium garlic clove, minced
3 Greek-style (pocketless) pita bread (see Note)
? olive oil
1 cup whipping cream
4 thick strips bacon, diced, cooked crisply, and then drained well
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (not the dried powdered stuff)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
24 to 32 fresh basil leaves, torn if large
Rinse clams in cold water. Discard any that do not tightly shut when tapped, a sign they are dead and should not be eaten.
In a medium pot, bring the wine and garlic to a simmer. Add clams, cover, and cook until they just open.
Lift clams out of the pot and onto a plate. Cool clams to room temperature.
While clams cool, bring the clam-cooking liquid to a simmer and reduce to about 3 Tbsp. Add the whipping cream, return to a simmer, and reduce by about half, until a thickened sauce forms. Remove sauce from the heat and set aside.
Remove clam meat from the shells. Coarsely chop the meat and set in a bowl.
Preheat barbecue to medium-high. Brush pita bread very lightly with olive oil. Grill until lightly charred on one side. Transfer pita to a work surface, setting it grilled side up.
Turn the heat on the barbecue to medium-low.
Spread the grilled side of each pita with the cream sauce. Divide and top the sauce with clams and bacon; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Slide the pizzas back onto to the barbecue. Close the lid and cook 5 minutes, or until the bottoms of the pizzas are nicely coloured and the toppings heated thorough. Just before slicing, top the pizzas with fresh basil.
Note: Greek-style pita, often called souvlaki pita, is available in the deli section of most supermarkets.
CEDAR PLANK PROSCUITTO-WRAPPED SCALLOPS WITH PESTO MAYONNAISE
This is a variation of a recipe that appears in my book, Everyone Can Cook Seafood. In that recipe, the scallops are baked in the oven. In this version, they are cooked on a cedar plank on the barbecue.
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus plank soaking time
Cooking time: About 12 minutes
Makes: 4 servings as appetizer; 2 as main course
For the mayonnaise
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp pesto (homemade or store-bought)
salt, white pepper and lemon juice to taste
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
For the scallops
12 Qualicum Beach or other large sea scallops, patted dry
6 paper-thin slices proscuitto, each cut in half lengthwise
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
splash hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 cedar plank, soaked in cold water at least an hour
lemon slices, for garnish
Wrap a half piece of prosciutto around each scallop and set on a plate. Combine the oil, lemon juice and hot sauce in a small bowl.
Preheat barbecue to medium-high. Set the plank on the barbecue. Close the lid and heat the plank 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully set the scallops on the plank. Brush each wrapped scallop with the olive oil mixture.
Turn the heat underneath the scallops to medium-low.
Leave the other side set to medium high. Close the lid and cook scallops 6 to 8 minutes, or until just cooked through. (The scallops should feel slightly firm, not soft, a sign they are not cooked, and not very firm, a sign they are overcooked.) Serve scallops from the plank with the bowl of the pesto mayonnaise nearby for dipping or spooning onto plates.
