Grilled Yamba prawns with salty lime and fennel

Shellfish have a huge amount of flavour in the shell, so whether you’re using prawns, crabs or lobsters, cooking them in the shell will give you a tastier result. This couldn’t be a simpler barbecue dish. Just grill the prawns and serve them with a dipping sauce you’ve made on the barbecue as well.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 12 large prawns, such as Yamba
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 dried red chilli
• ¼ tsp coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp black peppercorns
• 1-2 limes, juiced

Instructions

Preheat a barbecue or chargrill plate on high. Trim the prawn heads behind the eyes. Make an incision down the centre of the back of each prawn. Using the tip of the knife, remove intestinal tract.

Cook prawns for 3-4 minutes each side or until just cooked through.

Wrap the salt and spices in a piece of foil and fold it to seal. Place the parcel onto the barbecue or chargrill plate and toast the spices for 5 minutes. Pound the spices in a mortar to a coarse powder. Add the lime juice to the spice mixture and stir to combine.

Serve the prawns with the salty lime dipping sauce. Alternatively, you can season the prawns with the spicy salt and squeeze over the lime juice.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.