Stranger Foods

Punchy prawn and pear salad

Serves 4 | Prep 25 mins | Cook 10 mins

Pears pair beautifully with blue cheese, but you might not have imagined that prawns/shrimp would work with them both too. Put your inner-sceptic on hold and try this gorgeous salad. I add a touch of Cajun spice to the prawns for a bolder flavour and the whole thing just sings.

Source: Bold

Ingredients

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x0.5

2 small firm but ripe pears
2 small ripe avocados
300 g raw, tail-on king prawns
1 corn on the cob
1 tbsp light oil, such as groundnut or peanut
1 tsp Cajun spice
2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated
3 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
a few fresh chives, snipped
a few fresh dill fronds
salt
pinch chilli flakes (optional), to serve

For the blue cheese dressing

3 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp soured cream
35 g Stilton, finely crumbled (or other mild blue cheese)
1 lemon, juice of
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

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Start by making the dressing, so it’s ready to go. Combine the mayonnaise, soured cream, blue cheese and most of the lemon juice in a bowl (reserve a little lemon juice for squeezing over the pear and avocado in the next step). Stir everything together, pressing the lumps of cheese against the side of the bowl as you go to break them up and combine it into the sauce. Season generously with salt and pepper and set aside.
Core and halve the pears and chop into slices, keeping all the halves together, cut-sides down on the board, so the slices don’t go brown so quickly. Repeat to halve, pit, peel and slice the avocados, again keeping as little of the flesh exposed to the air as possible. Squeeze your reserved lemon juice over the pears and avocados too, which should help prevent browning.
Heat a griddle/grill pan over a high heat. While it’s getting really hot, tip the prawns and corn into a bowl, drizzle with the oil, Cajun spice and a generous pinch of salt, and toss them around so that they are coated.
Place the corn on the hot griddle and cook, turning, until charred on all sides. Remove, lay on its side and slice off the kernels. Set aside.
Add the prawns to the griddle and cook for a couple of minutes on each side until pink and cooked through.
To assemble the salad, pile up the lettuce leaves and avocado and pear slices. Add half of the dressing and a sprinkling of salt, and toss well until the leaves are coated. Top with the hot prawns and corn. Finish by sprinkling over the toasted pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs, plus some chilli flakes if you want a little extra heat. Serve the remaining dressing on the side for people to add more to their taste.

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