Prawns with Fennel, Saffron and Ginger - Chef Recipe by Ross Dobson

Ingredients

This delicious, exotically spiced and luxurious recipe is actually quite simple to make. A slow cooker is surprisingly good at steaming seafood: fish fillets and prawns, layered on top of a bubbling hot sauce, cook surprisingly quickly. Prawns in the shell are used here, as the shells add extra flavour to the sauce as they cook and look more dramatic in the finished dish. Of course, peeled prawns can also be used – they will cook in about 15 minutes and are ready when they are pink and curled up.

1 large fennel bulb, preferably with feathery fronds intact
1 Tbs olive oil
400g can whole tomatoes
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
3 cm piece ginger, coarsely grated
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chilli powder
Large pinch saffron strands
12 large raw prawns, shell on
Handful coriander leaves
Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
Steamed brown rice, to serve

Method

Heat your slow cooker to High.

If the tops are still on the fennel, roughly chop some of the fronds and set aside. Thinly slice the fennel bulb lengthways from the base and put into a bowl. Add the olive oil, tomatoes, onion, ginger, paprika, chilli powder, saffron and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, then tip into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 2 hours, until the flavours have developed and the fennel is tender.

Working quickly to avoid losing too much heat, arrange the prawns on top of the fennel and tomato mixture. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, until the prawns are pink and cooked.

Serve on a bed of brown rice and garnish with the herbs.

Credits: Images and Text from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Ross Dobson, Photography by Jeremy Simons, styling by Vanessa Austin. Murdoch Books RRP $35.00.

Photo Credits: Jeremy Simons.